


Heroes of Ferelden: The Fifth Blight

by SoulGamer92



Series: The Fifth Blight [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Grey Warden - Freeform, dragon age origins - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-09 00:18:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10399413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulGamer92/pseuds/SoulGamer92
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Dragon Age Origins would be like with all seven Wardens living to take on the Blight? Here is a story of such a tale where all seven survive to fulfill their roles as Grey Wardens.





	1. Prologue

The Fifth Blight: Heroes of Ferelden

Prologue 

Mage Origin (x2)

"What lies within the Brecilian Forest?" Reece asked himself as he sat down a book on the history of the forest. He had always wondered what was in the forest to the east of the Circle tower, but never ventured into the forest because of the templars forbidding him to leave the tower. Then again, he could always ask Irving, the First Enchanter. Irving was a kind man who seemed to age gracefully. A full grey beard with hair and eyebrows to match.  
Reece was born a mage of the Amell family and was brought to the Circle tower at the age of six. A sample of his blood was taken from him and kept in a vial in the phylactery vault in the tower’s basement. It was then that he met First Enchanter Irving, head of the mages and Knight-Commander, Greagoir. Greagoir was the head of the templar order in Ferelden. The templars were mage hunters.  
The mages in the tower wore plain blue, red or purple robes with very little embroidery or design. Lives were simple, if the mages weren’t being harassed by the templars. Some mages had that problem. Reece was lucky that he didn’t have that problem.  
The templars respected him enough to leave him to attend to the tasks that the First Enchanter asked of him. It was three days ago, that he had completed his Harrowing, a ritual where a mage is sent into the Fade, the dream realm, to slay a demon. If the mage is unsuccessful, the templars strike the possessed mage down. Mages can be humans or elves. Both coexisted in the tower on shaky terms.  
Reece was human, age twenty-four with milk chocolate brown eyes and pitch black short hair. His physique was built training with the templars. Unlike most mages, Reece wanted to train in both magical arts and as a warrior. Irving knew of the arts of an Arcane Warrior but the Circle lacked the necessary books and scrolls to teach mages the proper magic to master the art. Irving informed Reece of what he knew about the lost art and allowed him to train with weapons with the templars.  
Greagoir and his templars were impressed with Reece’s skill with weapons and magic. Reece was an expert in cold magic and knew a few other spells from other classes of spells. He even knew how to combine certain spells to make the effects even more powerful. Creating massive blizzards, freezing foes solid and enchanting weapons with ice magic to deal more damage per blow. It was due to Reece’s skill with both magic and blade that he was considered a candidate for the Grey Wardens.

Galadhwen Surana was born a mage in the Denerim Alienage taken at the age of six to live in the Circle tower with the other mages. There, she was introduced to Irving and Greagoir and the rules of the circle were explained to her. She was mentored by Irving and Wynne as Reece was. She and Reece were paired together often and Reece would be there for support. It helped with her confidence.  
She learned from him as he learned from her. She warmed up to him over the years and they helped each other learn in their studies of their unique gifts. While Reece was gifted with ice, spirit, some entropy magic and fire magic, Galadhwen was studying her fire, lightning, creation, some entropy and some spirit magic. She honed her skills in the circle to be a support mage in terms of offensive magic and defensive magic. Irving was always kind to her, as was Wynne.  
Greagoir even showed her respect. She was a well-spoken mage for an elf and had the respect of every mage but the templars weren’t as trusting of her. If anything, they were conflicted with temptation as they were with many of the female mages. She learned to confide in Reece with secrets and worries and they’d stay up some nights and talk them away. There were templars who were on watch during the night so they couldn’t engage in promiscuous activity, no matter the temptations.  
However, they would sneak kisses in their late teen years and into their twenties. They never got caught and she enjoyed the excitement. Both the templars and older mages suspected promiscuity, none was ever seen or admitted to. She always presented herself like nobility and respected those who knew more than she did and those who were older than her. The mages and templars also suspected a romantic relationship between Reece and Galadhwen but no questions were ever asked.  
Galadhwen was a little shorter than Reece. She had golden blonde hair that was let down past her shoulders, slender and slim with fair skin. Her emerald green eyes shined like the purest of lime green pools. Her personality was shy, sweet and her voice was light on the ears. She was kind, polite and only felt comfortable around a few people: Reece, Irving and Wynne.

Human Noble Origin

Erron Cousland was the second son of Teyrn Bryce Cousland and Teyrna Eleanor Cousland. He spent his days hidden away in Castle Cousland in the city of Highever being trained with sword and shield by his father and his knights since his teenage years. He was twenty-four years of age with a red buzzcut type haircut and green eyes. He favored heavy chainmail with a sword and shield. He was a warrior built with his shield as a wall that couldn’t be knocked down. He was a clever young man, able to discover hidden answers within questions that made him useful in conversations.  
Today was a different day for him. Today, Arl Rendon Howe, the Arl of the neighboring city, known as an arling, of Amaranthine, was arriving with his garrison of soldiers to reinforce the Cousland forces and help the king of Ferelden battle the darkspawn in the south. As taught by the Chantry, the ‘church’ of the continent of Thedas, darkspawn began as the magisters of Tevinter who sought their way into the Golden City, the seat of the Maker, in the Fade. Once they found their way into the Golden City, their sin corrupted it and the Maker cast them from the Fade, cursing them as soulless beings, thus their beginnings as the first darkspawn. When the Arl explained to Teyrn Cousland that his forces were delayed, Erron was skeptical.  
He voiced his concerns to his father about the Arl’s men and thought it a good idea to leave the Cousland’s men in the castle until morning and that his older brother, Fergus, should not head to Ostagar before nightfall. Taking his father aside, he explained the titles that followed the arlings and the teyrnirs throughout the land of Ferelden. The Arling of the Howes, and the Howes themselves prided themselves in their cunning. He knew that Howe and his father were old friends but he watched Howe when he could and he noticed that the Arl wasn’t too fond of Erron’s family, more so, their teyrnship of Highever. His father reluctantly agreed with his son and set off to find his wife and Erron’s elder brother to inform them of the decision that Erron had made.

City Elf Origin

Katriel Tabris lived in the Elven Alienage in the city of Denerim, Ferelden’s capital. The alienages were like small areas for the elves to live since they were viewed as second class citizens. There were many alienages throughout Ferelden but Katriel lived in Denerim with her family. They were known as the ‘City Elves’ to their traditional forest living brethren, the Dalish Elves. The City Elves lived under oppressive rule of their human overlords and were constantly abused in ways that no one should be.  
Today was a special day for her. She was to be married to a suitor that was picked for her by her father. Though she knew the day was coming, there was nothing she could to dissuade her father into dismissing the suitor. The Chantry issued the marriage permit and the dowry had been paid for. Reluctantly, she awoke and began her day getting her ruby red hair brushed and let it flow down to her back to be presented to her betrothed. Her face was plain, bearing no markings, making her harder to distinguish from her brethren. She had chocolate brown eyes that completed her appearance.  
Dressing in a fine white silk wedding dress with a light brown outline along the arms and across the neck, Katriel stepped out of her house and was greeted by her cousin Shianni and her other cousin, Soris. She knew Shianni was the type to get drunk whenever wine or ale was involved. She never understood why her cousin wanted to drink so much. Maybe it would help calm her nerves. She didn’t know.  
Soris, on the other hand, was more refined when celebrating any occasion. He was more laid back and liked to talk with friends. He didn’t care much for drinking. Sighing, she tried one last time to dissuade her father’s intention of her being married. However, he wouldn’t have it. Resigning herself to her fate, she walked onto a raised platform to meet her betrothed along with Soris’ betrothed.

Dalish Elf Origin

Erulasee Mahariel was one of the ‘Wandering folk’ or Dalish Elves. The Dalish Elves lived in many forested regions throughout Thedas. Her clan lived in the Brecilian Forest in eastern Ferelden. She and her clan mate Tamlen were sent to scout the perimeter of their land to find out if they were safe for another night. It would become a nightly ritual for the Dalish scouts to ensure their survival.  
The Dalish believe in many gods that they’ve built shrines as worship centers. The first of the nine elven gods is Elgar’nan, the All-Father and god of vengeance. He rules with Mythal, All-Mother and goddess of justice. Falon’Din is the elven god of death and fortune and guides the souls of the departed through the Fade, which the elves call, the ‘Beyond’. Falon’Din’s twin brother Dirthamen is the keeper of secrets and knowledge.  
Andruil is the goddess of the hunt or the ‘great hunter’. Andruil’s sister, Sylaise, is the goddess of the domestic arts or Hearthkeeper. June is god of the craft, the master craftsman of the gods. Ghilan'nain is the mother of the Halla or elven ‘land ships’ like the humans’ use of horses. Last is Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf.  
The elves believe him to be the trickster god of the pantheon, causing the chaos which banished most of the elven gods from the earth. He is the only god to walk with the other elven gods whom the Dalish call the ‘Creators’ and ‘The Forgotten Ones, evil elven god counterparts or demons. The Dalish hold these gods in high regard, aside from Fen’Harel to stay true to their beliefs of the old homeland before the Dales: Arlathan.  
Although Erulasee trained as a warrior, she was an accomplished scout and took up scouting missions whenever she was sent out with no complaints. Smooth strands of black hair cascaded down to the back of her upper neck and emerald green eyes that glistened like the purest of gems. On her face was ancient blood writing, like a tattoo. It was a form of magic that was grafted into the skin of the elves in the clans that were found worthy of adulthood. They had to undergo the blood writing without any sign of pain or the keeper, the leader of the clan, may think that the elf receiving the blood writing is not ready for it and will stop the process and reverse it by the same magic they use to begin.  
It gave her time away from the camp to enjoy some time alone or with another scout. It was her time to enjoy the quiet. But today was different. It was during the day that Erulasee and Tamlen were sent to scout the perimeter of their land where they camped. Erulasee surmised that the clan would want a report if they spotted any shemlen or ‘quick children’, referring to the humans.  
Walking through the forest of jungle green grass and chocolate brown trees with sea green leaves on the branches, they saw dark patches of dead grass and decaying trees in some areas. Calling Tamlen’s attention to the dead patches, they walked further until they saw the land getting progressively worse until they saw an entrance to a cave that looked like the stone was filled with an eerie blackness. Erulasee was usually headstrong and willing to investigate nearly anything but this instance made her uneasy. She argued with Tamlen and coerced him to return to their camp with the news of the cave.

Dwarf Noble Origin

Barry Aeducan was the second eldest child of King Endrin of Orzammar, one of two remaining dwarven underground empires. While male dwarves usually sported long, and sometimes braided, beards along with thick mustaches, Barry kept a short and trimmed beard and mustache of black hair. He had brown eyes, as brown as the stone of their city. The dwarves, as you can imagine, are short and stout folk with ridged shaped faces. The dwarves lived lives according to castes.  
First was the Noble caste. They decided the politics of how the city of Orzammar should be run, who should be stripped of their caste or elevated to a higher caste. The Assembly of Orzammar nominates and declares kings, caste status and many other rulings. No one, not even kings, are above the assembly. Although there were such individuals that were even higher than the assembly: A Paragon.  
Second is the Warrior caste. The warrior caste bears men and women throughout many high and low ranking castes to be trained as warriors against the enemies of Orzammar, most notably, the darkspawn. Their lives are often short as they are spent fighting against the darkspawn and often die in defending their homeland. While there are many, the need for more isn’t often met, as the dwarven society is on the decline. There are warriors that are held in high regard but they are warrior caste, no more, no less.  
Third is the Smith caste. The Smith caste forges weapons for the dwarves of Orzammar and dwarves of the fourth caste, the Artisan caste, decorate the weapons that are forged. As the name suggests, the Smith caste forges weapons and the artisans decorate the weapons for the Warrior caste to use and the other castes to defend themselves. The artisans are lower than the warriors and they are lower than the smith caste.  
Below the artisan caste is the miner caste. The miner caste is responsible for mining minerals and a substance known as lyrium. The miners deal carefully with the lyrium in its raw form. It has been known to alter the minds of dwarves who mine it if they are not careful. They are immune to its effects unless it finds its way into their bodies by being ingested or if it enters a cut, etc.  
They ship the lyrium to the Circle of Magi for the mages and templars to use when they need it. They help the Smith caste and artisan castes respectively by finding the minerals and steel needed for the weapons forged in Orzammar. They are a part of what keeps the trade flowing in Orzammar between the castes. They are also responsible for a portion of the trade that happens from Orzammar to the surface. The delivery of clothes, food and other things to Orzammar is vital for the dwarven society to function.  
The Servant caste is below the miner caste. The servant caste pledges themselves to members of the other castes in the hopes to raise their status and caste. The last of the castes of Orzammar is the casteless. These individuals are rejected by dwarven society and must survive by committing crimes and following orders to survive another day. They are barred to an area of Orzammar called Dust Town. It is believed that if they walk anywhere where the dwarves consider blessed by the Ancestors, the footsteps of the casteless would pollute the Stone.  
A Paragon is an individual whom is praised for awe-inspiring work and elevated to a position higher than the assembly by the assembly. They are declared ‘living ancestors’ by all dwarves. The dwarves believe that their ancestors that have passed on return to the ‘Stone’. They return to the earth from whence they came and guide the living dwarves throughout their lives. This is the belief of the dwarves who are declared worthy to pass on to the Stone.  
Barry had begun his tasks for the second day since being promoted to commander by his father. Throughout the day, he noticed a Grey Warden in light leather armor, bald and analyzing the room for possible recruits. Walking over to the Warden, Barry inquired about why the Warden was in Orzammar and the Warden informed him that he was looking for new recruits and was sent by the leader of their order. 

Dwarven Commoner (Casteless) Origin

Naomi Brosca was born casteless. She lived with her sister, Rica Brosca in the slums of Dust Town working for their crime lord, Beraht and his lieutenant, Jarvia. Every casteless dwarf had a mark branded into their skin so that dwarves of higher castes would know that they were casteless. In the eyes of the other castes, casteless dwarves were rejected by the Ancestors and forced to live as scum of the earth.  
The casteless were given names such as ‘Brand’ and ‘Duster’ because they either had the brand on their faces or because they lived in Dust Town with little to nothing to aspire to. Crime was their only lot in life. They fought for the favor of the crime lords or fought with the guards for food, armor or whatever they felt they needed. With Dust Town’s crime lords, those of the Noble caste wouldn’t cross them, as to say, they feared them. It gave the casteless a reason to live another day.


	2. The Grey Warden Recrutis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter details the Wardens' recruitment into the Order and a bit of backstory.

Chapter 1: The Grey Warden Recruits

Mage

Reece was reading tomes on how to enhance his cold magic beside Galadhwen when another mage showed up asking his help. The mage’s name was Jowan. Jowan was kind and talkative. He was talkative to a fault and he usually wanted to be near someone. Reece sighed, annoyed.  
Reece was a kindhearted person but had little patience for those who would waste his time. It was a personal crisis for Jowan. Reece didn’t want to deal with anything he had to say for the moment. It was as if the feeling of being needed was like a sixth sense. After dismissing Jowan, he walked with Galadhwen to the First Enchanter’s office to see if they were needed.  
On their way to the First Enchanter’s office, they kept stealing glances at each other. They stopped in the hall by his quarters and remembered how their lives began in the Circle. How unsure they were about everything and how Irving thought they would make a good pair to train their magical talents and help each other.

Eighteen years ago. (Age six)

Reece looked at the foreign architecture of the Circle Tower as the Templars brought him from Denerim at the age of six. The walls were made of stone brick and a high celling was what he stared at. There were other mage children. He wasn’t alone. He scanned the children that were with him and performed a double take as he noticed an elven girl. He had never seen an elf before; he lived in a small section of Denerim that was mainly inhabited by humans, he hadn’t seen any elves.  
She looked shy and scared. She was clutching a small blanket they allowed her to keep. Reece walked over to her to introduce himself.  
“Um, hello. My name is Reece. What’s yours?” The elven girl gasped, quickly shifting toward Reece, holding her blanket to her chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to know your name.” The girl stared at Reece for a minute before her posture relaxed.  
“My…my name is Galadhwen.” She stammered barely above a whisper. Reece smiled.  
He stood by Galadhwen as the templars paired the mage children for their rooms. They were paired together and let to a room with two beds.  
“Choose a bed. This will be your room until you two pass your Harrowing and become a full mage. You are given the rank of apprentice until you can prove your control of your magical abilities.” A templar in a full-face helm and heavy plate templar armor informed them. “A mage will be by shortly to begin your training.” He finished before leaving them in their room.  
Reece looked around the room, noticing the size of it. There were other walled off sections of the room with beds in them. Reece shifted his gaze to Galadhwen, seeing that she was holding her blanket to her chest, standing still and staring at nothing. Walking over to her, he placed a calming hand on her shoulder and smiled. She stood, slightly trembling as her head turned to face Reece.  
“Are you okay, Galadhwen?” She stayed quiet for a minute before she spoke up,  
“I’m scared and I want to go home.” Reece couldn’t argue that feeling. This place was filled with scared mage children and observant templars. He felt sorry for Galadhwen. He wasn’t sure they could go home. He believed that this was their home now.  
“Galadhwen…I don’t think we can go back home. I think…” He stopped, wondering if he should finish his sentence. “I think this is where we’ll live.” He again fixed his eyes on Galadhwen, his eyes showing sorrow and a longing to return home. Her eyes reflected the same. A door swung open and Reece spun around to see who came in. Galadhwen tried to hide behind Reece but it was evident that she had been spotted.  
“You two must be Reece and Galadhwen. I am a Senior Mage. My name is Wynne. I will be helping you to learn your magical talents.”  
“Pleased to meet you, Wynne.” Reece greeted with a smile. He turned his head to see Galadhwen peeking out from behind him. “Please don’t think she’s being mean, Wynne. She’s scared.”  
“I understand. I hope to teach you both that it isn’t so bad being here. This feels like I was born here. It may not be an easy life but it is necessary to teach mages to control their power. Let’s go somewhere where it’s quiet and I can begin to teach you.”

One year later

“Excellent job with the winter’s grasp spell, Reece. Now, Galadhwen, show me what you’ve learned with the fire blast spell.” Wynne instructed. Galadhwen swallowed nervously and aimed her hands in front of her. Trying to concentrate, she felt her hands warm up. A concentrated blast of fire erupted from her hands. “Remember, your will can show you how big or small a fire can be. Be careful.” Wynne warned. A few seconds later the flame dissipated. “Wonderful job, Galadhwen. Your focus was very good.” Galadhwen smiled. She felt her shoulder being patted by Reece as he beamed a smile her way.  
“You did a great job with that fire spell, Galadhwen. That was awesome!” Reece exclaimed.  
“Thank you, Reece. You did a good job with that ice spell.” Galadhwen complimented. She took a step forward and hugged Reece who wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug. They pulled away and looked at Wynne.  
“It looks like you two are becoming good friends.” Wynne laughed. “Who’s hungry?” She asked. They raised their hands as they were led to the main eating area in the tower.

Nine years later (Age sixteen)

Reece breathed heavily as his training session with the templars had concluded for the day. Since Reece had expressed a desire for wanting to train with blades instead of a staff, years ago, Irving spoke to Greagoir concerning the matter and his fifth day of training happened today. He had to learn what it meant to fight as a warrior as well as a mage. He spent the last few years being mentally conditioned for the task before taking up arms four days ago to physically learn the art. It was just as Reece placed the sword on the rack that he heard a scream; he didn’t need anyone to tell him who the scream belonged to: Galadhwen.  
Racing to her side with the templars following him, he was the first to spot a templar trying to pull her away from the wall she was resting on. Reece knew his intent and without thinking, used a telekinetic push to knock the templar away from her.  
“You bastard! What the hell do you-” The templar’s raging rant toward Reece was cut short as he saw Knight-Commander Greagoir and a small contingent of templars behind him. Galadhwen raced to Reece’s side, embracing him tightly as tears streamed from her eyes.  
“Galadhwen, what happened?” Knight-Commander Greagoir asked her.  
“Tha…that templar w-wanted to…” She broke into sobs as the Knight-Commander looked angrily at the templar.  
“To my office, now!” He demanded. “As for you two, return to your rooms. I will have supper brought to you.”  
“Thank you, Knight-Commander.” Reece nodded his head in respect as he took Galadhwen’s hand and led her to their room. The door closed behind them and Reece sat her on her bed and joined her. He knew after something like that, talking could wait. He feared it might do more damage to their friendship than good.  
Galadhwen cried on him for a few minutes. He sat silently, holding her and brushing through her hair calmly. She settled down and lifted her head to gaze into Reece’s eyes. He saved her. She was thinking of a way to thank him for that. Not only for that but for being the closest friend she’d ever have.  
His eyes became wide as her lips rushed to meet his. It was a surprise. One that, once the shock dissipated, he did not mind at all. He closed his eyes to take in her scent, her taste and the intent behind the kiss. Her lips were the most flavorful thing he had ever tasted. Not even food could beat them.  
They wrapped their arms around each other and enjoyed kiss after kiss as their hearts beat faster and their breathing quickened. Opening his eyes, he realized what it could lead to and what trouble they could get into. Placing his hands on her shoulders, she understood that they must pull away from the kiss.  
“What were those kisses for, Galadhwen?” Reece asked, perplexed.  
“For saving me…. from that templar. And for being a very good friend to me since we met ten years ago.” Being sixteen, they realized what they could get into but fear kept them from doing anything more.

Four years later (Age twenty)

Irving and Greagoir decided that it was time for Galadhwen and Reece to test their will and resistance in the Fade. The realm of spirits and demons. Being escorted by the templars to the fifth floor of the tower where the Harrowing chamber resided, they walked in to see the First Enchanter and Knight-Commander standing near a small pillar with a bowl resting on it. They wondered what was in it.  
“Magic must serve man and never rule over him.’ Thus spoke the prophetess Andraste as she cast down the mages of the Tevinter Imperium.” Greagoir spoke.  
“We have gone through this trial by fire and succeeded. As we have, so shall you.” The First Enchanter encouraged  
“They must do this alone, First Enchanter.” Greagoir reminded.  
“If we’re going one at a time, I will not do this! I will go into the Fade with Galadhwen. Think about it, Greagoir, two mages in the Fade at one time means either double the success or double the failure. The Circle has double the amount of lyrium stored away than anywhere else in Ferelden. Double the templar ranks up here and have the First Enchanter bring the Senior Mages for defense. I will not risk losing her to this.” Reece challenged.  
“So, it is true to what the rumors have said about you two the last few years. You two are in love and the evidence that Greagoir brought to me regarding the templar you defended Galadhwen from is true. Very well, Reece. I will bring more lyrium to send you both into the Fade.”  
“You have my sincere thanks, First Enchanter.” As the mages went to gather more lyrium, Reece felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Galadhwen gazing into his eyes with worry. “We will get through this together, I promise you. I will not let the Fade’s demons claim you. Should I fail, they shall claim me as well. I do not see that happening. Our will is real in the Fade like in the physical world. We will make it through this. Together, nothing will separate us.”  
“Reece…” She started, then approached him to kiss him and hold it a few seconds before pulling away. At this, a few templars moved to stop their public display of affection but Greagoir halted them. “Please don’t make me promises that you know that you can’t keep. I believe this promise. We will survive against our demons.” She finished.  
Reece’s smile radiated happiness between them and the mages returned with the sufficient lyrium for their test.  
“Let us prepare and then place your hands into the bowl when you’re ready.” 

Present day (Age 20)

Turning into the First Enchanter’s office, they could see Irving getting into a heated argument with Greagoir about the war brewing in the south. Reece also took note of a Grey Warden in light studded leather armor standing near them. The Warden brought Reece’s and Galadhwen’s arrival to light and Greagoir dismissed himself for another time.  
“These are the mages, First Enchanter?” The Warden asked him.  
“Yes, these are the mages I recommended for the Grey Wardens. Reece’s aptitude with magic and his physical skill as a warrior also is quite praiseworthy as well as Galadhwen’s skill as a support mage in terms of offensive and defensive magic.”  
“Then by the authority of the Wardens and the letter from my commander, I hereby conscript these mages into the Grey Wardens.” He handed Reece a letter which read:

Recruit(s),

You have been chosen as a Grey Warden because of your skill and courage among your people. Your old life is over. You now serve as an example for the warriors, mages and rogues of Ferelden. You will be the example of what they will aspire to be. I will not lie, you will pay a heavy price in many ways when you become one of us. I will see you in Ostagar.

May your travel guide you here safely. Maker watch over you,

Warden-Commander Duncan

Human Noble

A new morning arose with Erron waking to a new day. He remembered that he had successfully coerced his father to keep his forces here, much to the king of Ferelden’s dismay. The latest news in Highever was that the king demanded Amaranthine’s support against the Darkspawn. The Arl of Amaranthine sent his men at the king’s request. Erron knew something wasn’t right about the Arl and got the result he desired.  
He could understand that his father was a bit sore with him and he would have to explain himself. He didn’t mind it. Dressing himself in his heavy chainmail and arming himself for the day, he met with his father, mother and brother to explain himself. He explained that the Arl’s men were delayed. For what purpose? They were to head down to Ostagar the night before to reinforce the King of Ferelden.  
They realized Erron’s purpose of delaying their own men to meet with the King of Ferelden after the Arl’s men were called to assist them with no excuses. He would see the Arl dead before his own family. The attention of the Cousland family was turned to the castle doors opening to reveal a Grey Warden with the familiar studded light leather armor. He wore hair of crimson red and had blue eyes.  
“Pardon me, Teyrn Cousland, I am looking for your son.”  
“Why?” The Teyrn asked, stepping in front of his son.”  
“The Warden-Commander is sending me to conscript a political voice of reason. With those of us in Ferelden, the Commander needs another voice of reason, especially if politics are involved. This letter entails the demands of the darkspawn threat and the usefulness of your son.” The Teyrn understood and Erron’s curiosity was piqued. After saying his goodbyes to his family, he left with the Warden to meet in Lothering with the other recruits.

 

City Elf

Katriel stood awaiting the inevitability of her marriage until she eyed a man with heavy plate armor and a sword and a shield with an interesting crest on it. All eyes turned to the man in the heavy plate armor and the elder of the elven alienage recognized him as one of the Wardens.  
“Warden, why are you here?”  
“I am here to look for a recruit, Valendrian.” The Warden replied. “Warden-Commander Duncan sent me here to look for one. I know about you because of what Duncan told me.” The Warden had black hair, long and braided in spots. Brown eyes were what he had. The Warden looked to Katriel and gazed into her eyes and he swore he saw something that no other elf in the alienage had.  
“May I have a word with the bride-to-be?” Katriel was wary about what the Warden’s intentions were but Valendrian assured her that nothing was going to go wrong. Katriel walked down slowly and bowed graciously to the Warden. “Greetings, young lady, I hear you’ve done well with swordplay in the past when Duncan had visited the alienage in times past. May I see what you’ve learned? I have two daggers on my belt.”  
After her display of swordplay, he smiled. “Something tells me that you’ve learned your skill from someone. This letter is from the Warden-Commander. We would be honored if you would join us.” She was unsure about the decision.  
Her wedding would be called off, which was a positive for her, but she would have to say goodbye to her friends and family. Valendrian and her father, Cyrion walked over to her and smiled at her.  
“Child, you’re being given one of the greatest honors any elf could be. You have a chance to be a hero to all of us in the alienage. You have a chance to be free of the alienage life and to explore all Thedas. Please take this chance, if not for yourself, for all of us.” Valendrian finished. She looked to her father who replied,  
“We will always remember you, dear. You’ll always be my little girl. If your mother were here…you know she’d be proud of you. Make us proud.”  
“Say your goodbyes and then see me when you finish. We leave to meet the other recruits in Lothering.”

Dalish Elf 

Erulasee jogged back to her clan to report a cave filled with darkness unaware that she was the only one returning to the camp.  
“Da’len, where is Tamlen?” The keeper (or leader) of her clan asked. Erulasee explained how Tamlen was scouting with her through the forest until they stopped and noticed the land ahead dying until a cave was discovered. “Merrill, go with Erulasee and see where this cave is and both of you are to investigate what happened to Tamlen.”  
Erulasee traced her steps back to the cave and stopped immediately when she saw Tamlen being carried out by a man in heavy chainmail, Merrill spoke up,  
“What are you doing with our clan mate, shemlen?”  
“I am bringing out your clan mate to save his life. I was investigating the cave that was thick with darkspawn corruption when I found him clinging to what life he had left in him. The darkspawn taint is thick and he wouldn’t last long if he stayed much longer.”  
“Wait, you were in that cave and you didn’t succumb to the taint, why is that?” Merrill asked, perplexed.  
“I am a Grey Warden. I was sent by Warden-Commander Duncan to look for recruits and your friend,” He paused, pointing to Erulasee, “bears some of the darkspawn taint because of walking upon the dead land that was corrupted with it.” Erulasee guided them back to the clan where the Grey Warden explained everything to Keeper Marethari.  
“Da’len, it may be too late for Tamlen but not for you.”  
“She’s right.” The Warden added, “Tamlen’s body absorbed too much of the taint. I can sense it in him. He may not make it with your Keeper’s healing but if you join the Wardens, it may be the only way to save your life.”  
“We must care for Tamlen and move north to avoid the Blight. Know that you will be missed dearly by the clan.”

Dwarf Commoner

Naomi’s work was done. After being caught in the Proving, a contest to win the Ancestors’ favor, she broke out of her prison and slew her crime lord with the help of her friend Leske. Standing over the body of the dead crime lord, Beraht, she took a minute to revel in her victory over him and his entire carta hidden away in the tunnels of Dust Town. Walking out of a tunnel through a locked door, they came upon Beraht’s old shop. Walking out of the shop with weapons sheathed, guards caught sight of them and surrounded them. Upon seeing the guards, a Warden with medium chainmail armor walked between them,  
“It seems I have found my recruit.”  
“No, you can’t do this, she violated the Provings and escaped from jail!” The Proving Guard remarked.  
“She killed Beraht! We would be dead if she hadn’t killed him first.” Leske defended. The Proving Guard looked surprised,  
“He’s…dead? Beraht had many enemies and powerful allies.”  
“So, she has proven herself twice. I hereby conscript this young woman into the Grey Wardens. Before we brave the Deep Roads, I would like to give you a gift handed to me by our leader. This mace once belonged to a Warden. Foral Aeducan. He was related to your king, I think.”

Dwarf Noble 

“You have been found guilty of fratricide in the death of your older brother, Trian. Your name and title of prince has been removed from the Memories of Orzammar. You are no longer a memory or a person. You have been sentenced to death in the Deep Roads. You are to regain your honor and name by fighting off the enemies of Orzammar until your death.  
“Have you any last words?” Lord Harrowmont asked. He looked into Barry’s eyes and saw the innocence in them. “Your eyes speak enough. I believe your innocence. That means your younger brother, Bhelen, planned this from the start.  
“I will do what I can to take the throne and make sure that Bhelen does not profit from your death. I’m sorry. The Assembly of Orzammar was quick to decide your punishment. Bhelen took your father’s place in the Assembly and the motion to condemn you easily passed. It seems like Bhelen has been making deals for months or years.”  
“I have a blade of fine dwarven make and a sturdy shield for you to carry with you. May the Stone guide your arm and hold you up as you fight against our enemies. And may the Stone accept you when you fall.” Harrowmont stopped to motion the guards, “Let the condemned through the doors.” Barry walked through the doors to the Deep Roads determined to find a way out.  
Barry’s second, Gorim Saelac, heard from Harrowmont that a Grey Warden was traveling through the Deep Roads with a ‘Duster’ and if Barry could find him, he could escape and start a new life as a Grey Warden. Determined, Barry began his trek through the Deep Roads striking down both darkspawn and deep stalkers and looting the bodies when he deemed it necessary for his survival. He saw an opening from the tunnel and headed for it. Walking into another part of the Deep Roads, the Warden recognized him,  
“Lord Aeducan, where are your troops? Why are you out here alone?” Barry spoke,  
“I have been sentenced to death for a crime I did not commit.” Naomi recognized him and bowed low. Barry shook his head, not in disgust or disbelief but in sorrow. She did not have to bow to him. “Please stand. There is no need to bow before someone who has been sentenced to death because an Assembly believed he killed his brother.” Naomi stood before him and gazed deeply into his eyes. She saw his innocence.  
“I am sorry to hear that, my lord. My name is Naomi Brosca. As you can tell, I am casteless.”  
“You are a dwarf who should have rights like any other.” Barry remarked. She smiled at him,  
“You are too kind, my lord.” The Warden nodded,  
“Well, I have two recruits then. Let us be on our way to Lothering to meet the other recruits and then head south to Ostagar.”


	3. The Eve of Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wardens prepare for the Battle of Ostagar. Can they win it?

Chapter 2: The Eve of Battle 

The walk took three to five days for the recruits to meet in the farming town of Lothering. The Wardens met and gave their greetings before introducing the recruits.  
“Take some time to introduce yourselves and once the introductions are through, we must press through and travel south to Ostagar to meet with the king and our Warden-Commander.” One of the Wardens explained. Stepping forward, Reece turned to face the other recruits,  
“Hello, my name is Reece Amell. I’m from the Circle of Magi. I look forward to working with everyone.” He looked to his fellow mage and love interest before studying the other recruits. He could tell the recruit in heavy chainmail wasn’t too fond of him or Galadhwen. Like he was staring them down. Must not like mages. Reece thought. Stepping back into line, he waited on the other recruits. Galadhwen swallowed nervously and stepped forward. She was hesitant to speak until Reece and Erulasee offered kind and comforting words,  
“It’s all right Galadhwen. I’m right here with you as I always have been.” She blushed and hugged him.  
“Welcome falon.” Erulasee smiled, welcoming her. Galadhwen smiled warmly and found the courage to speak.  
“Hello, my name is Galadhwen Surana. I am from the Circle of Magi just like Reece. Pleased to meet you all.” She walked over to Reece and stood by him. Erulasee stepped up next,  
“Greetings, my name is Erulasee Mahariel. My clan left the Brecilian Forest some time ago. I grew up there.” She walked and stood by Galadhwen. Katriel stepped forward,  
“Hello, friends, my name is Katriel Tabris and I am from Denerim’s elven alienage. Pleased to meet you all.” Erron took the chance to step up next,  
“Hello, my name is Erron Cousland. I grew up in my father’s teyrnir in Highever to the north. Pleased to meet you all.” Taking his place next to Barry, Barry stepped forward to introduce himself,  
“Hello. My name is Barry. I was formerly an Aeducan until the Assembly of Orzammar found me guilty of a crime I did not commit. I was exiled and found by a Warden who recruited me.” Finishing his greeting, Barry stood beside Naomi who was the last one,  
“My name is Naomi Brosca. I grew up casteless in Dust Town in Orzammar. I meddled in affairs that my crime lord wanted me to so that I could eat day after day until I violated a Proving and killed my crime lord once I escaped his jail cell. I was later found by a Warden who took me out of Orzammar by way of the Deep Roads. We met Barry along the way and took him with us.” Naomi smiled at Barry who reciprocated the smile warmly.  
With the introductions complete, they headed south to the ruin of Ostagar where the king of Ferelden was waiting to meet the other recruits. They remembered that the Warden-Commander was waiting to meet them, too. It was early in the morning when they arrived in Lothering, so, it took half the day to travel to Ostagar. The sun was still shining in the sky but looked to start setting over the horizon within a few hours. Walking through the main gates of Ostagar, they met the Warden-Commander.  
A man in unique white leather armor with gold plating across the chest and on his shoulders. It looked like it was part leather armor and part robe. The end of the armor touched his ankles which were supported by sandals. He sported a black beard with a mustache attached to it and black hair tied into a ponytail at the back that seemed to gray with his age.  
“Greetings, recruits. My name is Duncan. I am the Warden-Commander of Ferelden, might I know your names?” Reece stepped forward,  
“I am Reece Amell of the Circle of Magi and this is Galadhwen Surana of the Circle of Magi. We grew up together Pleased to meet you, Warden-Commander.” Seeing how Reece introduced them, Katriel went next.  
“I am Katriel Tabris of Denerim’s Alienage. Pleased to meet you, Warden-Commander.” Erulasee went next.  
“I am Erulasee Mahariel of the Dalish Elves. Pleased to meet you, Warden-Commander.”  
“I am Barry. Formerly an Aeducan of dwarven royalty. Pleased to meet you, Warden-Commander.”  
“I am Naomi Brosca of Orzammar. I was casteless before I was recruited. Greetings Warden-Commander.”  
“I am Erron Cousland of Highever Castle, Warden-Commander.” Analyzing his recruits, Duncan motioned them to follow him over the bridge to meet with King Cailan of Ferelden. He was eager to meet the Warden Recruits.  
“After meeting with King Cailan, we must proceed with the Joining ritual as soon as possible.” Duncan insisted. The Warden Recruits nodded and walked in silence over the bridge toward the camp. There they met King Cailan and introduced themselves to him and answered his questions. He was shocked by some answers but Duncan stepped in and turned his attention to the matter at hand. With the king’s leave, Duncan informed his recruits that he would be waiting by his tent near a fire.  
They would be free to explore the camp but he asked that they not take too long and, if possible, seek out two other recruits, Daveth, a thief from Denerim and Ser Jory, a knight from Redcliffe. “You may also wish to seek out a Grey Warden by the name of Alistair. He was last seen by the old temple to the north-east.” They nodded in understanding.  
“I’ll go find Alistair.” Erron volunteered. Reece nodded silently and looked to the other recruits.  
“We’ll go find Daveth and Ser Jory.” Barry and Naomi volunteered. Turning to face Erulasee and Katriel, knowing that Galadhwen would go wherever he would, he asked them,  
“Would you like to come with me to see if we can find anything around the camp?”  
“Yes. We would like some company. That way Galadhwen won’t be without the one she likes.”  
Reece stopped fast as Galadhwen whispered,  
“Erulasee…” as she hid her face behind her hands to hide the visible blush in her cheeks.  
“I’m joking, falon. Come on. We’ll accompany Reece to see if there is anything worth taking from the camp.” Reece rubbed his forehead slightly and continued with Galadhwen, Katriel and Erulasee walking beside him. They walked through Ostagar, picking up some plant life that looked like it could be used later.  
Reece knew a little about herbalism but he didn’t know much about poison. He may have dabbled in it but he lacked even the basic skill. Once they explored the camp, they headed back toward Duncan’s camp fire and were met by Barry and Naomi.  
“Duncan wanted us to come find you.” Naomi explained. Reece smiled,  
“Shall we walk back together?” Reece asked.  
“If you wouldn’t mind the company.” Barry replied.  
“Not at all.” Galadhwen perked up. They walked back to Duncan at his fire after having met Loghain Mac Tir. Loghain was a well-known war hero against the empire of Orlais when Orlais ruled Ferelden for one hundred years. He helped the late King Maric free Ferelden from Orlesian control.  
Reece and Galadhwen started to walk back to the Grey Warden tent when they thought they saw a familiar face,  
“You may head back to Duncan if you wish, or you may follow me. I…think Galadhwen and I see a familiar face.” Naomi, Barry, Erulasee and Katriel headed toward Duncan’s tent while Reece and Galadhwen went to greet the mage they were familiar with.  
“Wynne?” Galadhwen called out. She turned her head to the left to see Reece and Galadhwen. She smiled warmly,  
“Galadhwen! Reece! It is good to see you two again! It has been some time since I last saw you two together. May I ask a question?”  
“Of course,” Galadhwen smiled.  
“Rumor around the tower was that you two were romantically involved and the templars suspected promiscuity at night. I’m sure I was right in guessing that you are romantically involved with each other but is the promiscuity true?”  
“No.” Reece stated. “We’ve…only kissed and hugged. We feared what would happen if we were caught doing anything more. Maker knows I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Galadhwen.” Wynne chuckled,  
“You both are young, filled with love and smart about what not to do regarding the rules of the tower. Irving chose his Warden Recruits wisely.” Reece sighed and Wynne noticed it.  
“Please forgive us, Wynne but we must head back to Duncan. Perhaps we will see each other again.”  
“You nine will head into the Korcari Wilds to find vials of blood, one for each recruit. You will also attempt to retrieve some scrolls left out in the Wilds. There was once a tower that held the scrolls. The tower was abandoned when the Wardens could no longer manage such remote outposts. Watch over your charges, Alistair.”  
“I will.” Alistair assured. Reece walked toward the gate, the others, surprised that he took the lead so quickly. Following him, they were warned about the Darkspawn in the Wilds and told to be careful. The gate was opened and they went on their way. Their first encounter, in the Wilds, was a pack of wolves; the recruits made quick work of them with their blades, magic and arrows.  
Walking forward, Galadhwen noticed a body floating in the nearby swamp water and a rolled-up letter on his chest. Wading into ankle deep water, she removed the letter from the corpse and read it. Reece and Erulasee walked over to her once she stepped in the grass of the Wilds,  
“It’s a letter to a man’s son. I’d guess that the son is the one whom I picked the letter off.”  
“I think I know what we’re doing. It looks like we’re looking for clues. I know what we’re supposed to do but if it means finding armor and more weapons to carry with us or put on, maybe we might have a chance at winning the war against the darkspawn.” Reece looked to his left and saw Barry and Naomi standing alone, wondering who to follow. “If you two would like the company of four, we would gladly welcome you into our small group.” Reece offered.  
“Much appreciated.” Barry smiled. Reece sighed heavily and stayed in his spot for a minute while voicing his worries while Alistair, Erron, Daveth and Jory were out of ear shot.  
"I was afraid it would come to this. Erron has quickly picked up a friend in Alistair. I am not complaining that it is a bad thing but I feel that there is something you should know; Alistair is a templar. He uses a kind of magic to drain mages of mana and render them powerless. I could tell that Erron didn’t like me when I glanced at him. He insists on leading them because of a mind that is much like a templar, to oppose me.  
“I pray to the Maker that if, say you, Erulasee, or you, Naomi, take up the art of a templar, that there is no ill will between us. I wanted to take command because I understood what we must do…” He paused a moment before finishing, “because I wish not to lose anyone to the Blight or to anything. I wish to be a friend to my companions and I wish to prove worthy of your trust as a leader, if you’ll have me.” Reece gazed out into the Wilds with no focus. Like staring into infinity until a gentle hand brought him back.  
It was Galadhwen’s hand.  
“I will stand by you, Reece as I always have. You have been so nice to me when I arrived at the Circle tower and you’ve protected me from the templars’ advances, besides, I care for you Reece.”  
“Because you trusted me when we were younger. You felt comfortable around me and I didn’t want you to be abused by sexually tempted templars. You were different than most of the mages in the Circle and I noticed that different was good. So, I offered my hand in friendship and I am glad where it has brought me.”  
“Count us in, Reece.” Naomi called to him, catching his attention. The dwarves were willing to stand with him too.  
“If you will stay with us, you will never go anywhere alone. You have my promise.” Reece finished. With warm smiled to one another, they continued walking through the Wilds, feeling some of the tall green grass brushing against them as they passed through it. The Wilds were a swamp land and home to many creatures. The newest addition being darkspawn.  
They followed trail signs while clearing their paths of darkspawn and finding new clues to different treasures and useful items in the Wilds. After they had searched through the Wilds for the vials of blood they needed and the items they found, they headed toward the tower where the others were gathering the scrolls.  
“The scrolls aren’t here!” Alistair exclaimed. Reece scanned the area and looked under loose stone and behind structures but found nothing.  
“What have we here? Are you scavengers picking apart a body whose bones were long since cleaned? Or are you in these Wilds of mine in search of prey? What say you, scavenger or predator?” A woman asked. She wore simple red and black robes that were strips of fabric woven together to make them. They were revealing, but not too much. It was enough to cover her features and keep her warm. She wore a blend of blackish auburn hair that was let down on the sides and kept in a bun in the back. Her eyes were a hazel color and her frame was slender.  
“We are neither.” Reece answered. “The Wardens once owned this abandoned tower.” The woman wondered about Reece’s answer,  
“Let me guess, you seek something that was in that chest, yet, it is there no longer?”  
“There no longer. You’re some kind of sneaky witch-thief!” Alistair guessed.  
“How does one steal from dead men?” The woman asked him.  
“Quite easily.”  
“You fear that barbarians will swoop down upon you?” She joked.  
“Oh, I don’t know, you could be one of them.” Alistair sneered. The woman turned to Reece,  
“You there, mage. You seem like the leader-type. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let us try to be civilized.  
“My name is Reece. Pleased to meet you.”  
“That is a proper civil greeting. One of the better ones I’ve heard in a while. You may call me Morrigan.” Reece quickly turned his attention to the need to acquire the scrolls,  
“Do you know where the scrolls are?” He asked.  
“She has them, doesn’t she? She’s keeping them hidden and won’t tell us.” Alistair quipped. Ignoring him, Morrigan turned to Reece,  
“My mother has them.” She answered.  
“Can you take us to her?” Erron inquired. Morrigan turned to him,  
“A sensible request from a fine-looking man. Follow me if you wish.” Following Morrigan, they ventured deeper into the Wilds until they came upon a wooden hut. “Greetings, Mother, I bring before you ten Grey Wardens who-” Her mother cut her off. She looked like she was very old. Her skin had the wrinkles that showed with age and dirty blonde hair that hanged over her face. She wore a simple mage’s robe that looked to be tannish-brown in color.  
“I see them, girl. My, there are quite a few of you, aren’t there?” Reece stepped forward and the woman’s eyes were glued to him. “You there, mage, come with me.” She motioned to her hut and Galadhwen became worried, stepping forward and gently grabbing his hand. Reece turned back and saw the worry in Galadhwen’s eyes.  
“Few hearts are so pure as yours, young one. I know he cares for you too.” The woman called out to Galadhwen. “He will not be harmed. You have my word.” She nodded silently. She watched as Reece walked into the woman’s hut and the door was shut.  
“You like him, don’t you, Galadhwen?” Erulasee asked, pulling her away from the rest of the group. Galadhwen jumped, gasping in shock. “My apologies, falon. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Thinking on Erulasee’s question, she blushed. The familiarity of rose pink colored her cheeks as she admitted to liking Reece. “One look at a human with a staff and robes and you like him?”  
“Reece grew up with me. We grew close during our years in the Circle tower and we studied magic and helped each other as our magic grew.” Galadhwen’s cheeks burned a darker shade of pink once she realized what she confessed. Erulasee could see that she was embarrassed having to admit what she did and felt remorse for teasing her like that.  
“Galadhwen…” Erulasee started, gently placing a hand on her shoulder before bringing her in for a hug. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. He’s a caring human and he is nice. I’ll give him that.” Galadhwen smiled. Everyone waited in silence for a few more minutes until Reece came out with the woman behind him.  
“Remember all that we had talked about, young man; remember my warning and here are your treaties. Your Grey Wardens will appreciate these.” The woman reminded. Reece nodded before joining his companions. “Girl, be a dear and show your guests out of the woods.”  
“Very well. Follow me.” Morrigan led them back to Ostagar before returning to the Wilds. Walking back to Duncan’s fire, Reece showed Duncan the scrolls and everyone presented the vials of blood.  
“Good, with the blood you’ve retrieved, we can begin the Joining immediately. Alistair, take them to the old temple.” Following Alistair to where he was first located, they waited for Duncan to make his way to them.  
“Now we can begin the Joining. I’ve had the Circle mages preparing it while you were in the Wilds. I will not lie, you will need the courage you had in the Wilds to face the dangers to come. We Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are. Since the beginning, the Grey Wardens have stood against the Darkspawn, taking in their blood and mastering their taint.”  
“We’re…going to drink the blood of those…things?” Jory panicked. Duncan nodded.  
“Those before us and those before you did the same, now so shall you. We speak only a few words before we begin. Alistair, if you would.” Alistair bowed his head a little and spoke,  
“Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the duty that cannot be forsworn. Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant, and know that if you perish, one day, we will join you.” Duncan turned to Daveth,  
“Daveth, step forward.” Everyone watched as Daveth stepped forward and was handed a purple translucent glass goblet filled with Darkspawn blood and drank a small portion of it before handing it to Duncan. Immediately, a negative effect gripped Daveth as he writhed in pain and collapsed, grasping at his throat. “I am sorry Daveth. Jory, step forward.”  
“No, I have a wife with child in Highever, you’d have me die and abandon them? There is no glory in this!” He panicked, drawing his blade.  
“You were conscripted, there is no turning back.” Duncan stated, drawing his own blade. After their blades clashed, Duncan saw an opening ran him through, receiving gasps from the women. “Who is going to go first?” Duncan asked, wiping off his blade and sheathing it, turning to the remaining recruits. Reece stepped forward and focused his energies on thinking about the other recruits.  
“Do not worry, Commander. I will explain what this is if I survive the Joining. This is not to harm anyone, I assure you.” Duncan nodded. He handed the goblet to Reece.  
Before he drank, he felt the familiar hand of Galadhwen on his right shoulder. He gazed into her eyes when he turned his head toward her. His eyes assured Galadhwen that he would make it, that everyone here would make it. Erulasee placed her left hand on Galadhwen’s right shoulder and slowly led her toward their group as Reece drank from the goblet. Handing it to Duncan, he felt immense pain and collapsed onto his back.  
“He will live.” Duncan assured them. The process repeated itself with the other six recruits. They woke with time and turned their attention to Reece. He wasn’t awake yet. Galadhwen was worried. She knelt by him and wondered if Duncan was telling her the truth. Minutes later, Reece awoke. His sight fixed on Galadhwen. He smiled.  
“I’m glad you made it.” He turned his gaze to the others, “I’m glad you all made it.” Everything came back to him all at once and he groaned. Galadhwen took note.  
“Reece, are you okay?” She asked, placing a hand on his.  
“Does anyone have any lyrium (magic) potions?” Lyrium is a like a form of liquid magic that mages drink to allow them to cast their spells. It acts like a mage’s stamina; it also drains them of their physical talents as well as magic. Their magic is their stamina, so to speak. His group searched their packs and Erulasee pulled out a small lyrium potion.  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find one bigger than this one. I hope this helps.” Reece smiled, his eyes thanking Erulasee for her kind offer. Taking it, he drank the small vial of lyrium and got up from the ground.  
“What did you do, Reece?” Duncan inquired, remembering the magic Reece channeled into the other recruits. He elaborated the difficult task of channeling the magic of the arcane shield into the other recruits to protect them from the poison of the darkspawn blood which sapped him of his magic and his strength.  
“An interesting technique.” Duncan concluded. “Take the time you need to buy what arms and armor you need, if you need them and meet me by the war table by the king when you are ready.” They nodded. Walking to the quarter master, they used what money they had to buy arms and armor. Reece analyzed the field for tents and remembered the Grey Warden tent that Duncan set up. Motioning them over to the tent, he waited until last to change into a set of grey iron chainmail with a sword and dagger as his weapons.  
Once they were finished, they accompanied Duncan to the war table to listen to King Cailan and General Loghain.  
“Loghain, my decision is final. I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault.  
“You risk too much Cailan. This war is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines.”  
“If that’s the way you want it, then maybe we should wait for the Orlesian forces to join us?”  
“No, Cailan. I do not think that is wise to allow our enemies to join us!” Loghain protested. He had bitter memories of the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden of one hundred years until he and the late King Maric drove the Orlesian forces from Ferelden, securing their independence and freedom.  
“Then our current forces should suffice then, won’t they?” Cailan asked Loghain. He ignored him. Turning his attention to Duncan and his recruits, Cailan inquired if the Grey Wardens were ready for battle.  
“They are, your Majesty.”  
“Great! Now, about the tower of Ishal?” Cailan asked.  
“I have a few men stationed there. It’s not dangerous, but it is vital.” Loghain added.  
“Good, now who to send?” Cailan pondered.  
“Your Majesty, send us.” Reece suggested, “Darkspawn will be everywhere. Not just in the field. You’ll need us for the tower.”  
“How would you know that, Grey Warden?”  
“Certain mages can pass on such knowledge of future events, King Cailan. I feel it would be wisest to send us to the tower.” Reece finished, hoping to persuade the king.  
“Very well. We’ll send the new Grey Wardens.” He agreed.  
“You rely on these Grey Wardens too much. Is that truly wise?” Loghain inquired.  
“They battle the Blight, no matter where they’re from. I cannot wait for the Grey Wardens to battle beside the King of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil, a truly glorious moment!” With the meeting over, the new Wardens met with Duncan who let Alistair know what he missed,  
“What? I won’t be in the battle?” Alistair inquired.  
The king agreed with Reece to send you all to the tower. I will be fighting beside the king with the rest of the Grey Wardens. From here, you’re on your own. Remember, you’re Grey Wardens. I expect you all to be worthy of that title.” Duncan finished.  
“Duncan,” Alistair started, “May the Maker watch over you.”  
“May He watch over us all.” They had their orders and Reece recalled where the tower of Ishal was and turned his attention to leading the group once more. Heading out toward the bridge, the Battle of Ostagar had begun. Reece watched as the battle commenced. The darkspawn clashed with the king’s armies and boulders hammered against Ostagar’s walls.  
“Go ahead of me!” Reece shouted over the chaos. “Cross the bridge and get to the tower; I’ll bring up the rear guard! Watch for the boulders! Move!”  
“You heard him! Keep your eyes open and your weapons up!” Katriel advised. Reece watched as the Wardens ran closer to the inner walls and stopped to avoid the flaming boulders. He ran behind them as they made it across the bridge and were met by two of Loghain’s soldiers,  
“You…you’re Grey Wardens, aren’t you? The tower has been taken by the darkspawn! Most of our men are dead.” Reece remembered the witch’s visions words to him.  
“We have to light the beacon, come on!” Reece ordered, sensing the nearby darkspawn. Though Reece was a mage, he preferred to fight with blades instead of a staff.  
“Darkspawn straight ahead!” Katriel called out, catching the attention of the Wardens. Reece backed up, sheathing his weapons before enchanting the Wardens’ weapons with ice magic. He quickly drew his weapons and charged to assist one of the soldiers fighting two darkspawn. Reece shoulder rammed one darkspawn before sliding a dagger between its ribs and removing its head with his sword.  
He spun around and froze a darkspawn in place for his friends to attack. Reece noticed Katriel’s arrows felling darkspawn, coating the field with blood from their rotten flesh. He noticed the blades of Alistair, Erron, Naomi and Barry before he heard an explosion kill two darkspawn on a platform to his left. He heard the familiar giggling of Galadhwen. She loved to make fireballs explode.  
Reece’s ears became receptive to barking. He forgot that Erron brought his mabari hound with him. He watched as the hound tore open the throat of a darkspawn genlock, a darkspawn rogue. Katriel was quick with her bow, using it as a melee weapon to slit throats and stab out the eyes of darkspawn that drew too near to her. As the darkspawn fell, Reece noticed a stronger one guarding the tower entrance.  
Summoning the energies of cold, he turned the darkspawn Hurlock, a human or elven warrior corrupted by the darkspawn, into a frozen statue. Naomi charged the frozen Hurlock and shattered it with one swing from her greatsword. Reece was surprised that dwarves like Barry and Naomi were so strong.  
“Well, that was easy enough.” Katriel laughed as she walked beside Barry and Naomi. Reece laughed,  
“Yeah. Nice swing, Naomi. Dwarves never fail to impress me with their strength.” He took the lead again before a light gasp stopped him. He knew who it came from. It was Galadhwen. Erron noticed a small stream of blood running down Reece’s arm.  
“You’re bleeding.” He noted. Reece hadn’t noticed with the adrenaline rush and close quarter kills. He reached for a health poultice until Galadhwen’s hands stopped his. He gazed into Galadhwen’s eyes and almost forgot that she studied healing magic. Focusing on Reece’s cut, she casted healing energies which mended his flesh. He smiled warmly, thanking her.  
“Let’s go. More darkspawn inside. Be ready.” Reece concluded.  
“Now is not the time for setbacks.” Katriel called out to them, rolling her eyes, “We need to light the beacon.” Reece nodded. Opening the doors, he allowed the others to walk in before closing it behind him. Readying his blades, he sensed more darkspawn.  
"Trap! Cover me!" Barry pointed out to a tripwire. Reece and Erron sprang forward to provide cover while the others attacked. “Hit the deck!" They ducked as a fireball exploded near them. With the trap disarmed, Barry and Naomi killed two darkspawn ahead of them. Reece's sight was fixed on a Hurlock Emissary, a darkspawn mage. Sensing the darkspawn's next move, he saw that the darkspawn was casting a crushing prison around Katriel. Reece summoned an anti-magic ward that protected her, nullifying the darkspawn's attack. It was quickly tackled and killed by Erron's hound.  
"Damn these things." Katriel breathed, gasping for a little air. Galadhwen casted a healing spell on Katriel and followed the others. They slaughtered darkspawn until Alistair stopped them on the second floor,  
"What are these darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here." Reece looked over his shoulder,  
"Why attack this place at all, unless they know what we're up to?"  
"That's a scary thought. They can't be that smart, can they?" Alistair asked.  
"You could just tell them they're in the wrong place." Erron joked. Alistair laughed,  
"Right. We'll all talk it out and laugh about it afterwards." Clearing his head, he continued, "We need to light the signal fire so Loghain's men know when to charge."  
"Clearly they are smart enough to know we would come here. This kingdom is one of the highest points they've been trying to seize for a while now." Katriel remarked looking around, "Perhaps since we are in the clear of them..." Katriel walked up to a chest looking it over, "We should look around for coins and supplies. Two more floors of goods to loot as well." She smirked grabbing some twine off the floor.  
“Good idea.” Erron agreed. Barry walked toward one of two doors and Reece stood by one. They opened the doors, taking the darkspawn by surprise, slaying them while the others searched for items of value. Reece and Barry stormed the floor and cleared the threat of darkspawn on the second floor. Galadhwen kept looking over her shoulder as she searched crates and dead bodies for loot. Naomi placed a comforting hand on her right shoulder and smiled at her, which calmed her.  
“We have two more floors to go.” Alistair informed them.  
The third floor was the same routine. The fourth floor stopped them cold. They laid eyes on a large darkspawn ogre.  
"H-h-holy sodding Ancestors, that thing is huge!" Naomi shuddered.  
"We've got it! Let's go!" Barry shouted as it turned to see them.  
"Wait! We've got to plan this out." Katriel halted them.  
"I'll freeze it to stop it in its tracks. Barry, get behind it to backstab and cause some festering wounds, Erron, be ready to assist Naomi to free Barry if he is grabbed. Galadhwen, Katriel, provide covering fire!" Reece finished.  
"You got it." Katriel readied her bow with an arrow, aiming just right and let it fly. It pierced the giant right in the left eye. "I blinded him! Go now!"  
It worked as Reece hoped. The ogre fell, dead. However, something was wrong. They were just behind the door where Reece and the others had been. There were far too many darkspawn for them to take out. The Darkspawn broke through the door as the beacon was lit and Reece channeled all of his magic into protective force fields to protect his friends. They couldn't move and they couldn't be harmed. Reece was exhausted. The darkspawn still had one target they could kill. Reece felt arrows pierce his shoulders and he took one directly to his chest. Before he blacked out, he saw orange flame murder all darkspawn in the area and heard Galadhwen screaming his name. A dragon roared and picked everyone up and carried them out of the tower and back to the Korcari Wilds.

 


	4. The Last Fereldan Wardens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surviving the Battle of Ostagar, they head back to Ostagar after setting up camp to settle a score.

Chapter 3: The Last Fereldan Wardens

“Why isn’t he waking up yet?” Katriel asked, pacing back and forth in the grass near the witch’s hut. Inside, Reece was being healed by the witch who happened to be a shape shifter. Her daughter, Morrigan, answered Katriel,  
“Mother is healing him. We must wait for him to wake or die. I know not which he might do.”  
“Time will tell, I suppose.” Katriel sighed, taking a seat. Slowly, Reece’s eyes opened. He had been stripped to his underwear for the full healing. He recognized the woman who stood by him,  
“Flemeth?”  
“Yes, young man. It is I. There is someone who I know would like to see you. Her tears and heartbreak remind me of when my lover was slain ages ago. Hold on. I’ll go get her.” Flemeth walked out of her hut and stopped by Galadhwen, “Young lass, he is awake. Follow me.” Katriel sat outside along the murky swamp of the Wilds mixing herbs she had collected before she saw Flemeth call Galadhwen’s attention to Reece’s awakening and recovery.  
“So, he’s awake?” She surmised. Erulasee’s ears became receptive of Galadhwen’s shouts of elation and she smiled. “Took him long enough,” Katriel muttered, mixing the herbs together.  
“Please do not think too harshly of him, falon. He wanted to see all of us survive. I think he has made a good leader so far.” Katriel continued mixing the herbs together,  
“I have no doubt in his ability to lead us. Sometimes he is as stubborn as a horse.” Erulasee laughed,  
“Yeah. Don’t suppose we’d have to go around kicking him to remind him now, would we?”  
“No.” Katriel chuckled. Erulasee chuckled in agreement. Minutes later, Flemeth went inside her hut and spoke to Reece and Galadhwen concerning a personal matter. After the instruction, they all came out of her hut and Reece stood before the rest of the Wardens.  
“Thank the Stone you’re alive, Reece! We thought you were sleeping with the Stone!” Barry exclaimed.  
“Oh, come now, Barry. We should know that he is too headstrong for that.” Katriel smirked.  
“Maybe. Unless his head is made of stone, he may not want to do that again.” He joked.  
“You’re alive.” I thought you were dead for sure.” Alistair chimed in.  
“Almost was. Thanks to Flemeth, I’m not.” He stated. Erron sighed,  
“Look, Reece. Galadhwen, I was wrong for judging you so harshly when we first met. Being raised to worship the Maker, I didn’t think mages were His children because you were different than the rest of us.”  
“Apology accepted.” They replied in unison. Reece turned to Flemeth,  
“Is there anything we can do to repay you for saving us? Flemeth laughed,  
"All that I want you to do, is what you are meant to do. It has always been the Grey Wardens' duty to stand against the Blight or did that change when I wasn't looking?"  
"Of course, it didn't. Wardens have been doing this for hundreds of years." Katriel perked up.  
"What happened to the armies? To the king?" Erron asked. Morrigan spoke up,  
They're all dead. The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle."  
"Loghain betrayed the king? But why? The king had nearly defeated the darkspawn. Why would he do this?"  
"He's up to something." Katriel analyzed, looking back over at the flames that spewed across the skies. "We must find out what he is doing. It could cost us the victory overall if we don't."  
"Perhaps he believes the Blight us an army he can out-maneuver. Maybe he doesn't see that the evil behind it is the true threat."  
"The archdemon." Alistair added.  
"No, I have a feeling he is after power." Katriel kept staring at the flames. "Why else would he turn his back on the king?"  
"Now that is a good question. Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature." Flemeth sighed, looking at Katriel.  
"What is an archdemon?" Galadhwen asked.  
"History says that long ago, The Maker sent the Old Gods of the Tevinter Imperium to slumber deep beneath the surface. History says it is a fearsome and immortal thing and only fools ignore history." Flemeth explained. “Now, before you go, there is one more thing I can offer you." Morrigan walked out of the hut and called attention to Flemeth,  
"Will we have enough stew, Mother?"  
"The Wardens are leaving shortly girl and you will be joining them.” Everyone shot their eyes in her direction.  
"What?!" Morrigan exclaimed. "I am not sure I am ready."  
"You must be ready. They need you to help end the Blight before it swallows everything."  
"I...understand." Morrigan sighed. "Allow me to get my things if you please."  
"She's an apostate, you understand?" Alistair asked.  
"What does that matter?" Katriel inquired, looking in his direction.  
"You're right. Grey Wardens have always taken allies wherever they're found."  
Morrigan came out and stood before them, "Might I suggest a village to the north as our first destination."  
"I agree. I have a feeling that power isn't the only thing that traitor is after. We need to rally all the kingdoms together. Warn the queen of the fate that happened."  
"We're heading back to Lothering."  
"Yeah." Naomi agreed.  
"We have to start somewhere." Katriel pointed out, walking past them.  
"In a hurry to get there, Katriel?" Reece asked half-jokingly. He knew he was but sprinting wasn't part of the plan.  
"Don't want to be late now do we?"  
"No." Walking down the King's Highway, they soon came to Lothering but were stopped by highwaymen. Reece took time into consideration. Channeling the powers of cold, he froze them all and shattered them.  
"This looks like a village in need of help. Do we help or just be on our way?" Reece asked.  
“For those who want to help others, let them help. For those of us who want to get what we need and be on our way, let’s do so and wait for the others.” Barry suggested.  
“I think we should help.” Katriel agreed. “This may be to our advantage if we offer help to those in need, we may find people to help us against the Blight.” Reece nodded in agreement. He hoped that they would be quick. Walking into Lothering, they found items in loose crates and helped settle disputes, handing out items and dealing with bandits. They gained two new allies: Sten, a Qunari and Leliana, a lay sister of the Lothering Chantry. Gathering their items together, they came upon a darkspawn attack on a merchant caravan. After stopping the darkspawn, they noticed it was nearing night as they walked on.  
“We should set up camp for the night.” Reece suggested. Reece watched as Katriel walked off into the woods alone. He sighed as the others found places to set up their tents. Turning back, he helped them set up their tents and prepared their bed rolls. He stood on the outskirts of their camp awaiting Katriel’s return. His eye was watchful. He didn’t want anyone missing. As the others grabbed food and water, they waited for her to return. Reece smiled as he watched her return with the firewood in hand. Watching her set it in a small pit that was dug for it, Galadhwen waited for everyone to step back and she lit the firewood with the fire that erupted from her staff. Raising her head, she saw Reece and walked to him. She took his hand and walked him to their tent.  
“Now we can cook our food,” Galadhwen smiled. Reece returned the smile warmly. They sat by the fire eating in silence until Alistair broke it,  
“This doesn’t seem real…we’re the last of the Grey Wardens…”  
“It’s hard to imagine,” Katriel started, glancing over at Alistair, “I never thought I would be here.”  
“I’m sure none of you did.” Alistair replied. “I never thought I’d see the day where this would happen…” Galadhwen’s voice was heard and Alistair turned his head to her,  
“What’s on your mind, Reece?” He elaborated,  
“Duncan sent a call asking for support from the Grey Wardens of Orlais. They did not arrive to assist us. Someone must have turned them back at the border…Loghain.”  
“Why would he do this?” Katriel asked.  
“I’ve read about the last hundred years of Orlesian oppression on Ferelden and its people. I believe Loghain is still very bitter about Orlesians and the fact that Wardens came from Orlais asking for a presence in Ferelden after they were banished.” Reece informed.  
“Still…” Katriel paused, “There must be more to it.”  
“We’d have to have him tell us.” Reece finished.  
“I’ll see his head on a pike first.” Alistair growled, “He left Maric’s son to die! He left the Wardens, my only real family, to die!”  
“He will get his marking.” Katriel assured him.  
“I hope he does.” Alistair sighed. His gaze fixed on Katriel, “You know, I never thought I’d find a friend in someone who thinks like me, whether the odd jokes make an appearance or not. It’s nice to know that someone has my back.”  
“No matter the race, we are not as different as we think.” Katriel said.  
“True.” Barry agreed, “We’re Grey Wardens. We’re in this together.”  
“I wonder…” Katriel paused, thinking.  
“About what?” Alistair inquired. "I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of quests ahead of us."  
"I need to go back..." Reece said aloud to himself.  
"You can't go alone Reece." Katriel pressed.  
"I know...there is a... reason...I need to go back to Ostagar."  
"We will go with you."  
"How many? We need others to watch the new camp."  
"I would say at least four."  
"Very well. Let's get some rest and we'll decide who goes with me."  
After supper, they stayed awake a little while longer to discuss what their mission would be tomorrow.  
"I swore I saw a locked chest in the king's camp before we left. I think something important is in that chest."  
"Then we need to get to it before the darkspawn or Loghain does."  
"Agreed." Barry piped up.  
"Why would you wish to go back to Ostagar? That was where your kith fell. Is there any purpose in going back?" Reece turned his head to Sten,  
"A civil war is beginning between Loghain's soldiers and the Bannorn. To deal with the darkspawn properly, we need the proper tools and evidence to stop the civil war first. What we need to start is back there." Sten agreed.  
"If there is valuable information at the fortress, then we need to get it. If it should into the wrong hands..." I picked up my bow and arrows. "It could be the end for all races."  
"I would hate for nations to fall, only to have Weissaupht face another Blight. That's in the Anderfels. A thousand miles away. We can't let the Blight get out of control." Alistair informed.  
"I'm ready." Katriel said  
"And she said I was stubborn." Reece teased, looking at Katriel. "Katriel, Galadhwen and Alistair, you're with me. He turned to Naomi, Barry and Erron, "Keep it safe. We'll be back."  
"It comes in handy. More so then one thinks." Katriel smiled warmly.  
"True." They walked half the day to the ruins of Ostagar to see it in ruins and bodies fallen with blades beside them. Reece drew his blades. “One darkspawn is my true target. As for the rest, send them to the Void!"They were cautious as they walked through the debris, their weapons drawn as they scouted the perimeter. Once they were clear, they started at the entryway of the ruins of Ostagar, where Katriel laid eyes upon Duncan's body.  
"Duncan!" Katriel ran over and knelt over his lifeless body. Galadhwen joined Katriel in mourning over Duncan. Reece and Alistair couldn't look at him. They were filled with grief and rage. Turning back to where they sensed darkspawn, they headed into battle alone racing toward the remaining darkspawn in Ostagar.  
"We need to search him. Quickly." Through tears, Galadhwen found a sword and dagger on him.  
"These belonged to him..."  
"Keep them." Katriel placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Look at this..." Katriel grabbed what appeared to be a scroll.  
"I thought we had all of the treaties?" She asked. Unrolling the scroll, Galadhwen gasped. "Alistair is a prince? He is King Maric's son, too?!"  
"Does he know of any of this?" Katriel wondered. After searching his body thoroughly and giving a brief burial, they gathered all that they could from him and made their way towards the rest of our group.  
"I would think he does." Galadhwen answered. In the distance, they heard battle cries from Reece and Alistair. Ahead of them, they could see several slain darkspawn bodies.  
"Well....I can see we didn't miss much." Katriel muttered, irritated.  
They carefully searched the grounds of Ostagar and they found a buried key.  
"There's a chest over there." Galadhwen called out, pointing to the northwest. They headed to the chest and unlocked it. Inside it they found a blade that Alistair recognized.  
"That's King Maric's blade...and these documents..." He stopped to read them. "These documents convinced the empress of Orlais to ally against the darkspawn."  
"Take everything. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of darkspawn on our tail looking for this...or humans."  
Galadhwen walked up to Alistair and gave him Duncan's sword. With a smile, she turned to Katriel.  
"Here. Take his dagger. That way you and Alistair have matching items."  
"We must not be too long. Dusk will fall within the next few hours. Let's check the rest of Ostagar." Alistair reminded.  
"Cailan's armor pieces...there were three of them...do you have them? Reece asked them.  
"A shield, his gauntlets and his boots."  
"Someone needs to put them on. Any extra armor any of us can find right now is idea. Let's go,"  
"Alistair. It's yours." Reece suggested. Looking up toward the bridge they walked until they stopped and saw Cailan's body pinned to a cross by darkspawn spears. "No honorable king deserves something like this..." Reece mourned.  
"We should take him down...he needs to be lain to rest properly."  
"We can't do that yet. The remaining darkspawn would never allow it." Reece sighed. We deal with them first and then Cailan.  
"Well then." Katriel drew an arrow. "What are we waiting for?"  
Alistair looked to the Tower of Ishal,  
"Let's do this." Battling their way through the darkspawn, they recovered another armor piece. Opening the doors, they saw too few darkspawn on the first floor. The door was locked. There was no going up.  
"I guess we go down into the hole then." Galadhwen sighed. It was what the darkspawn used to ambush the guards in the tower.  
Heading down into the hole, they discovered a hidden part of the tower. A basement if Reece guessed right. They fought darkspawn until they came to a room. Reece could hear quiet rustling noises. He spun around and saw a corrupted spider about to attack Alistair who was unaware. Running, Reece knocked Alistair out of the way and the spider pinned Reece to the ground and attacked. Reece tried to block his face from the spider’s legs and fangs. He could tell his armor was being tested and he could feel blood flowing freely.  
An arrow flew from Katriel’s bow, hitting the spider in the eyes as it squealed and fell, dead.  
Lying on the ground for a few seconds, Galadhwen rushed to Reece and channeled healing energy into him.  
"Next time just tell me there's a spider behind me. I might scream like a little girl and run but you won't be doing that again." Reece laughed,  
"Sure thing, Alistair." After healing Reece, Galadhwen took note of Alistair's joke and laughed heartily,  
"That would be a funny sight to see."  
"Let's keep going." Katriel reminded  
They walked until they reached the battlefield. Memories of the failed battle flashed in their minds. Analyzing the battlefield, Reece's blood ran cold and he exhaled painfully.  
"No...no, no, no!" He panicked as he ran to a body clinging to life. He turned the body over: Erulasee. "Galadhwen! Erulasee needs healing! Katriel, defend them. Alistair, we've got trouble." They eyed a genlock necromancer who raised an ogre from the dead. Reece and Alistair rushed out to battle.  
"Come on, let's go!" Katriel hollered.  
After dealing with the threat and collecting the last of Cailan's armor, Reece and Alistair rushed to Erulasee's side,  
"How did you get here, Erulasee?"  
"I... followed you at a distance...I wanted to help." Reece knew the gods that the Dalish worshipped. "Thank Mythal you're alive! Can you walk?"  
"Barely... everything hurts..."  
"Galadhwen, Alistair, help her onto my back. I'll carry her."  
“Well, this is it. Time to see what lies beneath this fortress.” Katriel mused.  
“I think we’ve dug about as deep as we can get. We’ve picked this place clean. Let’s get back to Cailan’s body and agree on what to do with him.” Reece motioned.  
“Agreed…” Erulasee breathed, “I can’t wait to leave this place.” The fire raged high, the sparks flicking as they all watched in silence at the burning of Cailan's body. Burning was known to be a very old yet traditional burial that had been carried on for hundreds of years among the humans. Katriel felt overcome with emotions watching his body burning but it was the noble thing to do.  
Alistair noticed Katriel's tears and placed a comforting hand on her left shoulder as they watched Cailan's body become ash. Galadhwen silently cried as Reece sat with her and Erulasee who comforted her. She gazed up at Alistair and gave a warm smile as the fire continued to burn slowly.  
"I'm glad we decided this. A pyre is what nobility deserves. He was our king, after all." Alistair sighed.  
"It is but the most honored burial known."  
"To humans and City elves, probably. We Dalish bury our dead beneath trees." Erulasee informed. She turned her head towards her,  
"I may be a City Elf but my heart forever will lie with the Maker."  
"I know falon. My heart will forever lie with Mythal, the All Mother and seeker of justice." Erulasee smiled.  
"Reece and I believe in the Maker. We will never say that your ideas are wrong, Erulasee." Galadhwen replied.  
Katriel sighed quietly and walked off on her own scouting out the fortress and area surrounding it.  
"Where is Katriel?" Alistair asked, glancing around, noticing she wasn't with them.  
"We'll be by the gate to the King's Highway. Meet us there." Reece informed Alistair. He nodded as Erulasee, Galadhwen and Reece headed toward the highway.  
Katriel stood on the edge of where the great fortress of Ostagar once stood, now there was nothing but rumble. Her eyes gazed around the horizon where the forests could be seen for miles still holding on to life even with all the chaos that was around it threatening to take it down, yet there was still a glimmer of hope.  
"Katriel...there you are." Alistair sighed in relief. "The others are waiting by the King's Highway at the other end of Ostagar." He gazed into Katriel's eyes. "Do you need a moment?"  
"Will we ever return home?" She asked.  
"Maybe someday." Alistair reassured her. "All Grey Wardens left home to meet the others and make a new one. With what we have right now, the road is our home. We'll travel until the Blight is done and then we'll see about returning to our homes."  
"I never got to say goodbye...." She remained silent for a moment. "All I remember was being rushed out of my home, the one I wasn't even born into...."  
"I'm sorry." Alistair placed a warm hand on her shoulder." I know what that's like. I'm a bastard prince."  
"How does one even know where they came from truly?"  
"Some by asking questions. Others by searching. Some may go their whole lives never knowing. You were from the Elven Alienage in Denerim, yes?" I was the son of King Maric and a Redcliffe serving girl. I was raised by Arl Eamon until his wife sent me to the monastery in the Chantry at age ten."  
"Yes, yes I was." She kept her gaze. "I don't remember much of my upbringing."  
"Your father does, I'm sure. Last I heard, he was still alive in the Alienage when you left. I'll bet he even said goodbye to you."  
"Someday I would like to return. I miss my family."  
“I’m sure.”  
“Well, we should return to the others, yes? We have a long way to go, don’t we?”  
“Yes.” Let’s hope they’re not having fun without us.” Alistair joked.  
“Who knows.” I don't know. I thought I heard a mage at Ostagar once mention that Reece and Galadhwen were promiscuous. Just something I heard."  
"Get down!" She pulled him down with her as they hid behind a huge boulder. Darkspawn could be see scouting the lands as a small herd of them were striding down the beaten path. "Wonder what they are doing over here."  
"I thought we'd killed them all. They must have come from the Wilds. I don't know how long this cover will last. They can sense us as we can sense them. Alistair blushed as he realized he was gazing into Katriel's eyes. "Uhh...well..."  
"Perhaps this will help. Quick, dust yourself with it."  
"The power is in the blood. I'm not...wait! Do you see that? Darkspawn are falling. But....Reece. Figures. He's the only one that headstrong in our group."  
"We would have had this under control." Katriel gruffed.  
"He may want this Blight ended more that the rest of us." Alistair joked. "Wouldn't we have just walked quietly past them? I thought that was your plan." Katriel sighed annoyed and scoffed off towards where Reece and the rest of the group was.  
Alistair sighed and followed Katriel as Reece wiped off his blades. They walked silently toward Galadhwen and Erulasee who were waiting for them by the King's Highway. Seeing that everyone was together again, Reece carried Erulasee as they walked throughout the night to reach camp. It was nearing sunrise when they reached camp and they were exhausted.  
Katriel walked off toward her tent once they were back at the camp grounds. She was tired and irritated.  
Resting until late morning, Reece awoke and studied the Grey Warden treaties. They had treaties for the dwarves of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi and the Dalish Elves. They also needed to seek out the Arl of Redcliffe. But who to send where? Katriel had awoken earlier than usual and had scouted out her own path to grab some breakfast. No one knew she was gone and that's how she liked it. She was still sore about yesterday with Reece.  
After looking through the treaties, Galadhwen placed a hand on Reece's cheek. Turning to her, he listened to her,  
"Do you wonder what's happening with those affected by the promises of the treaties?"  
"Yeah. I can tell there will be conflict wherever we decide to go."  
"Would you be willing to go to Orzammar first?" Barry asked.  
"We have to start somewhere. Not everyone is present though."  
After spending some needed time to herself out in what she considered her natural home, Katriel headed back to the camp grounds where everyone was gathered in the big tent.  
"So, you're thinking about going to Orzammar to seek the assistance of the dwarves?" Erron asked.  
"Why not?" Naomi countered. "It was where Barry and I lived before we became Wardens."  
"The dwarves plight of constant battle with the darkspawn is a battle every day. We'll need every Grey Warden." Reece surmised.  
Katriel walked into the tent as quietly as she could and took her place next to Alistair.  
"The Deep Roads are always full of darkspawn. Every Grey Warden will be useful in the Deep Roads." Alistair announced.  
"That must be where they are residing. Out of sight and out of mind. Or so they think." Katriel spoke up.  
"I fought them in the Deep Roads when I was sentenced to death. They live in the Deep Roads. They don't usually appear on the surface." Barry informed.  
"Except during Blights." Erron added.  
"We'll have to work together to wipe them out so that they can't surface above ground. Also, keep an eye out for chests and anything we can find to better keep us prepared." Katriel advised. It wasn’t a bad idea. Reece agreed.  
"There are thousands down there. It won't be easy." Barry enlightened them.  
"Nothing we can't handle I'm sure." Katriel assured them.


	5. To Orzammar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wardens head to Orzammar to pursue the first of their treaties.

Chapter 4: To Orzammar

"They are just as cunning as any Grey Warden. We will need to stay alert once we're in the Deep Roads." Barry continued.  
"Then let's pull up camp and get moving toward the Frostback Mountains." Reece ordered. They pulled up camp and headed to the Frostbacks. It took two days but they arrived at the base of the mountain. Ahead, Reece noticed bandits ahead. He sighed angrily.  
"Finally, something to take my anger out on!" Katriel said with excitement as she drew an arrow and allowed them to start flying.  
Galadhwen assisted Katriel while Reece and the others defended them. Soon the bandits fell and were looted. Walking up to Orzammar's gates, he saw the dwarves gate guards in a heated argument with one of Loghain's men.  
"Son of a bitch..." Reece cursed. "What the hell are they doing here?"  
"Trying to win over the dwarves, I bet." Alistair guessed. They walked up to the gates and showed the dwarves the treaties.  
"Wait a minute, what are the exile and brand doing here? Orzammar is not their home." The gate guard captain informed.  
"We have a new house, the Grey Wardens." Barry defended.  
"Very well. We'll allow you all in. You're all Grey Wardens?"  
"Yes." Reece replied. Loghain's messenger spoke up,  
"You're letting in traitors to Ferelden, as well as a kinslayer and a brand? In the name of King Loghain, I demand you kill them all!" Erron and Alistair shoved the messenger off the doorstep and slew him. With that, the Wardens were allowed into Orzammar. Entering Orzammar, the Wardens laid eyes on stone statues. "We are in the Hall of Heroes. This room is dedicated to Paragons both living and dead. Paragons are like living ancestors who we worship. They are the highest dwarves who founded their own houses. Not even the Assembly can do anything important without their consent.” Barry educated.  
"This....this place is unbelievable..." Katriel's eyes gawked as the Wardens followed Barry and Naomi through the long hall.  
"Through these doors is the Commons. Where the commoner caste is allowed to sell their wares. On the left wing is a path to Dust Town. It is where the casteless live. They barely get by day by day and must fight for scraps to survive."  
"It...was where I grew up..." Naomi teared up. Barry hugged her and the others stayed silent.  
Katriel looked at Naomi, not realizing just how rough her life must have been growing up. Thinking on it, they all had a past....a life that they had to leave behind...for the worst or in this case, for the best.  
"You have a new house now. I do too. We won't go hungry and we won't have to fight with each other." Turning his eyes to the right, he continued, "Down the right path, it is split between the Deep Roads and the Diamond Quarter. The Diamond Quarter is where the nobles live and where the Assembly of Orzammar is held. We need to head there."  
Barry lead the way into the Diamond Quarter until they were stopped. Naomi's eyes widened as they feasted on someone who she never thought she'd see again.  
"Rica?!" Naomi squeaked. The dwarf turned around and stood shocked,  
"Naomi?! My little sister has returned from the surface! I must take you to see Prince Bhelen."  
"My younger brother, the one who condemned me to death." Barry interrupted. Rica's sight turned to Barry,  
"Prince Bhelen saw this as an opportunity to have you leave Orzammar to join the Wardens. He knew that Lord Harrowmont would follow the Assembly to the letter. It was Harrowmont who condemned you. He's a puppet to the Assembly. Bhelen wants the throne to keep the darkspawn away from Orzammar. That's why he moved to have you exiled."  
"You knew what Harrowmont was like. He was on your father's leash. More so on the Assembly's leash." Barry frowned.  
"What happened with my father? Where is he?" Barry asked. Rica bowed her head,  
"He returned to the Stone not three weeks ago. He was very sick over the death of your older brother and your exile. Bhelen mourned for three weeks."  
"So Bhelen and Harrowmont are fighting over the throne?" Rica nodded.  
"I can take you to Bhelen's top advisor, Vartag Gavorn. He will help you with your questions and he will take you to meet Bhelen."  
"Very well." Barry sighed. They followed Rica into the chamber of the Assembly where Vartag was waiting for them.  
"I wonder something...." Katriel started.  
"What?" Alistair asked.  
"I guess it's more of a feeling."  
"What is it, Katriel? Are you all right?" Alistair asked, turning to face her.  
"I'm not sure to be honest. I just have a feeling we are going to have to prove ourselves before we get their aid."  
"That's with everyone who we have to deal with." Reece surmised. "There is always something we'd have to do. Nothing is ever easy." Discussing the treaties and their plans with Vartag, he sent the Wardens out to look for two people to give promissory papers to. Finding Lady Dace in the Diamond Quarter, she looked at the promissory notes and promised to switched her vote to Bhelen, she gave the Wardens a pass to get by the mine commander. Heading to the commons, Reece stopped them. Receiving directions to the Tapsters tavern, he sighed and turned to Galadhwen,  
"I want to go into the tavern alone. Please...I just need to clear my head. I'll be okay. I promise." She placed a worried hand on his breast plate but she let him go. As he walked away, Alistair asked Katriel,  
"I've noticed your subtle movements. Are you mad at Reece for something?"  
"Who says I am?"  
"The event back at Ostagar. I thought you were a little sore with him." Lightly taking Katriel's hand, he took her over to a quiet corner, "You sure you're okay?"  
She sighed heavily,  
"Every time I speak my mind or what I'm feeling, it's like a huge slap in the face. He's acting like a know it all."  
"Uhhh...to some he may seem like it but some others may feel that his words are right. Although he has voiced a lot, I'm afraid, at least with the treaties and the problems, he may be right. It can't be easy."  
"And as I've said before, it's nothing we can't handle." Alistair smiled.  
"I believe you. Come on, let's get back to the others." She took his hand and pulled him back "thank you for showing concern."  
His face flushed pink and he stuttered,  
"I uhh...ummm, you- you're welcome." He was nervous. Katriel could tell. He'd swear she liked him.  
"Let's go." He nodded and they headed back to the group to see Reece getting back just in time.  
"That's one down. Last one is in the Aeducan Thaig." Barry informed. "I know how to get there." Passing into the Deep Roads, Barry signaled weapons ready. They drew their weapons and followed Barry's lead into the Deep Roads.  
They encountered some darkspawn in the thaig and a new enemy: deepstalkers. Little carnivorous lizards. Walking through the thaig, they saw Lord Dace and his mercenaries fighting the deepstalkers. "We need Lord Dace's help. Let's help him out." Barry ordered.  
They made quick work of the deepstalkers and Barry talked with Lord Dace and the Wardens heard Lord Dace change his vote to Bhelen.  
"Do you want to return together?"  
"Yes, Lord Dace. The area is limited." With that, they returned to Vartag and he took them to meet Bhelen. Upon returning, they gathered in the chamber of the Assembly to report their success to Vartag and he took them to meet Bhelen.  
“Well, I’ll be a nug’s uncle! So, it is true! My big brother has returned from the grave and has found a place among the Grey Wardens. Just as I hoped.” Bhelen smiled.  
“Why did you do it, Bhelen? I am not angry with you. I prefer this life. I just want to know why you did it.”  
“In truth, I realized that you were father’s favorite but I looked at you and realized that you weren’t meant to hold Orzammar’s throne. You, just like Trian and Harrowmont, would have run Orzammar into the ground and the darkspawn would have had us all. When I heard about a Grey Warden was in Orzammar, I set the events in motion to have you exiled.”  
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t truly want me dead. I never desired Orzammar’s throne. Politics never interested me. The fight against the darkspawn, yes, that would have been my priority. Now I have that chance. I thank you for that, Bhelen.”  
“Now I know you belong with the Grey Wardens. You think like them.” Bhelen praised.  
“Then you recognize the treaties signed by the dwarves promising aid?” Bhelen sighed,  
“Yes brother, I do. Unfortunately, since Harrowmont is fighting me for Orzammar’s throne, I cannot send you the help you need until I am king. What do you know of Jarvia and her carta?” Barry looked to Naomi who stepped up, “You’re my Rica’s little sister? Welcome to the family, little sister. You were from Dust Town. You bear the mark.”  
“Yes. I used to work for Beraht until I killed him. Jarvia was his top lieutenant. If anyone can take out the carta in Dust Town, send me.” She volunteered.  
“I’ll go with her.” Katriel stepped up. “Surely two are better than one.  
“We’ll all go.” Reece insisted. “She can lead us.” Walking out of the palace and out of the Diamond Quarter, they noticed a shopkeeper being threatened by carta thugs.  
“Carta members!” Naomi seethed. Looking to Katriel’s belt, she asked, “May I borrow a dagger, please?” Katriel handed her a dagger which she accepted graciously,  
“Go for it.” Naomi took the dagger she was handed. She was angry. Flashbacks of her former life came to light. She hated it.  
Opening the door to the store the thugs turned to see them. One of the started to speak but before he could, Naomi slammed him against the wall and brought the blade to his neck. The other thugs froze in shock until Barry 'politely' asked them to leave. They ran for their lives. Naomi lightly pressed the blade against his throat and growled,  
"You know who I am. I killed Beraht. You remember? Dead on the cold stone once I pulled my greatsword from the hole in his chest! Listen closely you sodding son of a worthless whore! Tell Jarvia that all who work for the Carta will be left dying in their own blood!"  
With that, she tripped him as he tried to run and she kicked him in the stomach as he crawled out. She was pissed. She breathed heavily, gripping the dagger tightly.  
"I'll have what she is having." Katriel snickered, walking inside the tavern.  
"Naomi?" Barry called with concern. "Please, we're here to help you. Can you take us to Dust Town?" She nodded, her breathing calming. Walking out of the store, she took them through the commons and into the area that was Dust Town. An area filled with poor excuses for stone houses and beggars. They walked until Naomi heard a voice from her past,  
"So, is being a Warden too good to say hi to an old friend?" Turning, she saw someone.  
"Leske?!"  
"What are you doing back in Dust Town? Coming back to polish my scepter again?" Barry silently growled, beating one of his maces against his hand.  
"Now Leske, do I need to tell everyone else about what I said about it the last time?" His face flushed red.  
"No."  
"Good. Now where's Jarvia?!" She demanded.  
"Okay, okay, look! Jarvia would kill me if she knew that I told you this but, in your old home, there is a door leading to a supply room inside the Carta. You can get in from there. I need to get going before she catches me with you." With that he ran off, allowing the others to head to Naomi's old home.  
“Who on Thedas was that?" Katriel asked as they stood in front of her old home.  
"His name was Leske. He was an old friend growing up here in Dust Town with me. We would run errands for our old crime lord Beraht until one day we fell out of favor. I killed him and later became a Warden. I don't know about Leske anymore. He seems...different." They walked into her old home and into an ambush. Dealing with it, they found a finger bone used as a key. Finding the door to the base, they entered it.  
"I'm sorry your friend seems different Naomi...I'm sure that's not easy to see."  
"Nor will it be to kill him. As with everyone else in this base. Don't let anyone go. Kill them all!" She ordered.  
They cut through the ambush with little difficulty, swords clinging, arrows flying and piercing the carta members' flesh and Naomi showed great skill and leadership as they searched the house quickly once all were slain.  
"There are many more rooms in the base, search them. Barry, watch for traps. Leave no one alive!" They tore through the base, looting everything and everyone they could. They soon reached the main chamber.  
"So, the duster who killed my man returns!" Naomi knew that voice: Jarvia! "Did Bhelen send you? He realizes that he can't hold his throne unless there's a queen! Wouldn't you think so, Leske?"  
"How could you do this, Leske? We were best friends!"  
"Did you forget how things worked here in Dust Town? When Jarvia took over, I had no choice but to do what I could to become her lieutenant!"  
"None of that matters, Leske. Kill them all, but leave our ol' duster alive. I have plans for her."  
The Wardens charged at them with full force, swords clinging and clashing. Leske somehow appeared in Katriel's corner of vision, lunging at her his dagger swerving back and forth. She blocked him with her bow as he took a swift kick to his stomach.  
"Ha ha!" He laughed as he grabbed a handful of sand, throwing it in the air, falling into her eyes.  
"Ah! " She shook her head frantically back and forth trying to wipe her eyes but he lunged, pushing her back as they fell to the ground.  
A shriek erupted from Leske as Barry dug a dagger deep into his back, pulling him of Katriel, which gave her time to recover. Barry tortured Leske as Erulasee and Alistair rushed to defend her. Galadhwen and Reece took out the rest of the thugs while Naomi battled Jarvia.  
With one final motion, Jarvia's head rolled across the floor. The battle was done. Naomi removed Jarvia's head with her blade. After looting them, Barry turned to hear whimpering.  
"Naomi..." He was worried for her. Her rage turned to sorrow as she fell to her knees and sobbed. Barry took a knee and held her in his arms. The others gathered around them, bowing their heads in silence. After a few minutes, they got up and left the base through a back door, coming out of a shop now owned by another dwarf.  
Taking their time, they sold what they didn't need. With that, they headed back to report to Bhelen what transpired.  
"Jarvia is dead. And with the news spreading throughout Orzammar that I ordered her death, it brought me greater favor. What do you know about the Paragon Branka?" Reece's gaze shot to Bhelen. He remembered talking to a drunk about Branka.  
"She's a smith and an inventor." Reece piped up.  
"She's the city's only living Paragon who left into the Deep Roads two years ago to search for something the ancients have created. She turned her back on her responsibilities."  
"That drunk said he was Branka's husband." Reece informed.  
"Well, if he's any help, seek him out and follow this map to Caridin's Cross. That's the last known location for Branka. That way when she returns, she can endorse me as king."  
"Let me have a whack at this one." Katriel said, holding out her hand for the map. Handing Katriel the map, they left for the Deep Roads until the drunk that Reece mentioned, stopped them.  
"You're Oghren, right?" Reece asked.  
"You remembered? I'm sodding touched. You're looking for Branka, right? I know what she was after. An item called the Anvil of the Void. It was an item used to create golems to protect Orzammar from the darkspawn. If we pool our knowledge, maybe we'd have a better chance at finding her."  
"Sounds like we have a deal." Reece agreed. Oghren was a dwarf with a red flat top haircut and a red mustache to match his hair and sideburns. He wore Silverite dwarven heavy armor and smelled of ale. He was sober for once. "Let's go." Reece suggested. He headed off into the Deep Roads with the Wardens and Oghren as Katriel gave the directions. The roads seemed clear until they reached Caridin's Cross.  
"Caridin's Cross...I can't believe Bhelen actually tracked this place down. This was once the biggest crossroad to anywhere in the Deep Roads. You could get anywhere from here, even Ortan Thaig." Oghren educated.  
"So much change now since the Blight has happened."  
"These tunnels have been Blighted since the first Blight. Darkspawn overwhelmed nearly every dwarven thaig. Killing countless dwarves males and dragging females away. Plenty has happened." Oghren enlightened them.  
"No... that’s not what I meant."  
"Oh...I thought you meant down here." He replied.  
"Change has been going on for years..."  
"That it has...everywhere it seems except ol' Orzammar." Oghren sighed, I'd love to chat woman but I'm here on a mission. Can we get moving?"  
"My name is Katriel and we are moving. Walking and talking. It's called multitasking you should try it sometime" She stormed off ahead of the group.  
Oghren sighed,  
"I didn't mean anything by it. Sod. She may not want to get too far ahead. There are bandits ahead and darkspawn are crawling all over this place."  
"I'll call her back." Alistair volunteered.  
The group was approaching as she searched the bodies she had killed, taking mostly coin and adding bows to her pack.  
"Katriel." Alistair called. Catching up to her, he continued, "Please don't walk off like that. It's more dangerous down here in the Deep Roads. I don't want to lose anyone to the darkspawn. I've lost enough Grey Wardens...I don't want to lose you too." He pleaded.  
"Dwarf needs to watch his tongue around me. I know we are on a mission.....we have several that we will have to complete before this is all said and done." She stood to her feet and looked up at Alistair. "I'm fine. I took care of the bandits."  
"I just wanted to be sure." Alistair smiled. "I wouldn't take to heart anything Oghren's drunken ass says. He could be coming off another hangover from too much ale."  
"Then he shouldn't be with us." I looked over his shoulder as the rest of the group got closer. "Could be more of a disadvantage."  
"I would agree...but he knows more about why we're down here than any of us." Alistair chuckled, I wonder how many in our group have called him a drunk ass already?"  
"Well let's continue on then before I stuff my dagger in him."  
"Awww...I was hoping you found that funny." Alistair faked hurt in his voice hoping to win her over.  
"I'm sure they have made their comments. Whether or not he understood them is a different story."  
"Right. Out of the blue, are you feeling tired at all?" Alistair asked.  
"No, I'm feeling fine."  
"Well, at some point in time, we may have to sleep here in the Deep Roads to rest up. We've been up for most of the day." Alistair suggested.  
"That is very true. We should tell the rest of the group."  
"Agreed." They walked back to the group and informed them.  
"I sense darkspawn in these corridors. We clear them out, we can rest. I'll stay up and keep watch." Reece volunteered. "Down through this corridor. We can wipe these darkspawn out and rest here. Weapons ready " Reece suggested. Weapons clashed and magic flew, slaying and binding the darkspawn to their fate. Heads rolled and blood pooled until the corridor was clear. The area was big enough for everyone to sleep in their own space. But some would refuse to sleep alone.  
"I've had enough darkspawn to last me all day tomorrow." Katriel scoffed. They nodded in agreement. Choosing their spots, some sat down together. Reece and Galadhwen, Alistair and Katriel, Barry and Naomi. Erulasee stayed close to Reece and Galadhwen while Erron and Oghren sat in their own areas.  
"I'll be up keeping an eye out." Reece reminded.  
"Reece...but..."  
"I know, love but if we are to succeed, one of us must keep watch."  
Katriel watched as the fire blazed brightly up against the chiseled stones, illumination the barren ground all around them. No sense of danger could be felt in the area. They could sleep in peace, armored and ready for the day ahead tomorrow. Reece gazed into Galadhwen's eyes. She loved him. It was evident since their late teen years in the Circle Tower.  
Galadhwen locked lips with Reece in a loving embrace and after a minute, they pulled away. She blushed,  
"Odd place...I know but...I haven't kissed you in a while." She confessed.  
"I know, Galadhwen. Get some sleep."  
Katriel watched as they shared a kiss, part of her longed to find love someday in this world. Oddly enough, she had been feeling this pull towards Alistair. He was always around when she needed him, like today for example: following after her to make sure she didn't go too far for concern of the darkspawn that filled the tunnels.  
"Katriel. Is something wrong?" Alistair asked with concern in his voice. "You seem to be in a daze. Is everything all right?"  
"Have you ever found it Alistair?"  
"Found what, Katriel?" He asked.  
"Love."  
No. I never found it. Most women found me too weird and never gave me a chance. The sisters at the monastery always told me that if I ever found it, if anything promiscuous happened that I'd be struck by lightning. Of course, I laughed at them and thought it a lie. What about you?"  
"Struck by lightning? Are they mad there?"  
"Not sure if they're mad or just delight in scaring their templar recruits. Seems pretty funny, actually."  
"I don't see any delight in trying to scare someone from wanting to find someone to love."  
"It's not the love. It's the sex they're trying to scare us away from. Of course, I think they're doing a terrible job at it."  
"It's part of it." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "There are those that find it to be a very sacred thing to share and have with someone."  
"I'm sure. Wait have you ever...you know...?"  
"No...."  
"Neither have I. As templars, we're said to serve the Maker and refrain from sex to remain pure in his eyes. Then again, other templars still serve Him and they've done it before. Must be that they have no shame."  
"I've never understood the Templars very well."  
"I haven't understood the religious teachings very well. I enjoyed the training and swordplay though. Many times I'd be sent to the kitchen by the grand cleric to shuffle through the pots and pans more times than I can count. I can count pretty high, you know."  
She laughed lightly  
"Can we now? That might come in handy for the number of darkspawn that have been slain."  
"Heh heh. I don't suppose you expect me to keep track. He paused to gaze into her eyes, "Do you?"  
"No I don’t." She said gazing around the area. "No one person could possibly keep track of so many."  
"Right. I'd probably lose my mind trying it." He laughed.  
"I'm sure that there is someone who would try it though. I, myself, wouldn't. Too many other things that need my attention."  
"I agree. We're a bit too busy to do that." He laughed.  
She yawned fighting to keep her eyes open, still staring into the fire. Galadhwen was already sleeping cuddling Reece. Barry and Naomi were next to each other, keeping warm. Erron and Oghren were sleeping and Erulasee was a few feet away from the fire. Reece looked over toward Alistair and Katriel to see that they were getting sleepy too.  
"I suppose I should try and get some sleep."  
"Yes we should. Reece said he'd keep watch."  
"Alright then well...goodnight."  
"Goodnight Katriel." Alistair smiled before he drifted off to sleep. As the Wardens woke, Galadhwen panicked, as Reece was no longer by her side. Her voice quivered with fear,  
“Reece…sweetie…where are you?” She looked for him, yet, saw nothing except a small piece of paper, which read, 

To my love, and fellow Wardens,

I apologize that I am no longer with you. I have been called back to the surface at Flemeth’s behest. It is with very powerful magic that I am now roaming the surface so quickly looking for another ally. I pray to the Maker that I find you before you reach the Anvil of the Void. Galadhwen, my love, I ask that you take command and venture with our friends to help find the Anvil. I know you’re strong. I know you have the will. Show them you can do this. I shall be by your side as soon as I am able. I promise. Also, you have not been left without protection. There is a massive shield of Flemeth’s magic protecting you.

Reece.


	6. Family Reunion on the Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the behest of Flemeth, Reece is called to the surface to see what she wants from him. While on the surface, he meets the Hawk/Amell family who is related to him.

Chapter 5: Family Reunion on the Surface

It pained Reece to leave his fellow Wardens in the Deep Roads alone, especially Galadhwen. Flemeth assured Reece through the Fade that she would protect them until they woke. He trusted her enough to venture back to the surface by her orders and enhanced mobility spells. Quickly making his way to where Lothering was, he was partly surprised to see Lothering destroyed by the darkspawn. The Blight originated in the Korcari Wilds, so it was no coincidence.  
Heading south toward Ostagar, he noticed dead darkspawn. The trail wasn’t thick with dead darkspawn but he could sense living darkspawn to the south and decided to follow them. If he could sense them, he was sure they would sense him. Quickly trekking down the Blighted path, he noticed a family fighting darkspawn. He decided to assist.  
Carefully aiming down the path, his hands warmed until a fireball formed and he shot it. It hurled down the path until it met a group of darkspawn ahead of them. A female mage with short daisy blonde hair, eyes blue like the cleanest of waters and a body that was slim and slender. The robes she wore were crimson, woven down to the waist line where a cloth hanged past her midsection. Black leggings and black shoes that resembled moccasins.  
The robe had a yellow line running in a circle around the neck. It was sleeveless. Black triangle designs decorated the bottom strip of the robe all the way around. With her was another mage with black hair that descended to her lower neck and stopped. She had green eyes.  
Her robe was as blue as the sky with a scale like design in the cloth it was made from. The robe was white at the chest and shoulders. The sleeves of the robe looked wrinkled near the elbows and were grey in color. Near the middle of the robe, small belts could be seen latched onto a rhombus shaped gem. There was a young man, a warrior.  
He had short black hair and brown eyes. His attire was that of a unique, but recognizable soldier. His armor was grey in color with black xs down the center of the armor with two red stripes on the right and left of the armor that descended vertically like the xs did. He wore a belt around his long tunic and pants that resembled blue jeans along with brown boots. He carried a greatsword at his back.  
The unarmed woman was older than they were. Perhaps their mother? She had grey hair and blue eyes. She wore a crimson red dress that was full, the sleeves were crimson, as was most of the dress. There was a silver color in the dress at the bust and extending to the waistline. There was a small cross shape. She wore crimson shoes that matched her dress.  
“Who are you?” The blonde asked Reece.  
“Reece Amell of the Grey Wardens, at your service.” Their faces locked on him in a stunned expression.  
“Cousin?!” They exclaimed in surprise and in unison. Reece looked confused,  
“What?” The woman approached Reece with a hug, which he returned warmly,  
“I am Leandra Amell. You’re a cousin to the Amell and Hawke families. These are my children. The blonde mage is my eldest daughter, Laura Hawke. Her sister is Bethany Hawke and her brother is Carver Hawke. We’re very happy to meet you, dear.” Reece stood shocked for a moment before he shook it off,  
“A thousand pardons, but we must keep moving. I’m sensing darkspawn both north and south of us. We’re in no danger of walking into the bulk of the horde. They’ve moved north when they destroyed Lothering. That’s…where you lived, wasn’t it?” Reece asked as they walked.  
“Yes. It’s where my children grew up. It’s all gone…wait, we can go to Kirkwall. My family has an estate there.” Leandra remembered.  
“There’s a lot of templars in Kirkwall, Mother.” Bethany warned.  
“It’s all right. We can keep you safe. Sign a few documents, find people to pay. We’ll keep you safe, dear.”  
“Worthless bastards.” Reece growled. “I never liked templars much. I spent most of my life in the Circle tower protecting my love. She is also a Grey Warden.”  
“Who is your love? If you don’t mind me asking?” Laura inquired.  
“Her name is Galadhwen Surana. She is an elven mage. I’ve protected her since we first met at the age of six. We fell in love at the age of sixteen. We grew up together as we were paired together often. We shared a room and got along very well.”  
“And what did you two do in that room?” Carver asked, hinting and hoping for promiscuity.  
“Carver Hawke! Manners!” Leandra scolded.  
“It’s all right, Leandra. We didn’t do anything other than kiss, Carver.” Reece sighed.  
“What’s wrong, Reece?” Bethany asked.  
“I miss Galadhwen.”  
“Did she survive Ostagar? Is she somewhere else?” Laura asked.  
“All Grey Wardens that were stationed in the Tower of Ishal survived Ostagar. I must thank the Witch of the Wilds for that. My fellow Wardens are in the Deep Roads, protected by Flemeth’s magic.”  
“How many Grey Wardens are there?” Carver asked.  
“There are eight Grey Wardens in all of Ferelden. I was called up to the surface at the behest of the Witch of the Wilds. For what purpose, I am not sure. Weapons ready.”  
“You’re an Amell. You’re a mage. Where’s your staff?” Laura joked.  
“All jokes aside, Cousin, I chose to train with decent templars, ones who had enough respect to not look lustfully upon my lover and to leave me to my work when the First Enchanter called me.” Conversations ceased as darkspawn were spotted. Reece rushed ahead of the group and took on three darkspawn at a time. More rushed in but Reece was faster and stronger. The Hawke family watched in amazement at Reece’s skill combatting the darkspawn.  
Heads rolled off bodies, arms leaked blood and sockets spewed forth tainted blood. Reece bathed in it as he pressed forward. He felt pain nip at him as axes and daggers met his flesh but he was relieved to see his mage cousins healing him, protecting their mother and rejuvenating his mana pool while Carver took out the darkspawn he left behind. They soon came to a wide-open area. “Laura, Bethany, stay close to Leandra; use ranged spells.  
“Carver, defend me while I summon a blizzard.” Reece commanded as the darkspawn rushed for them. Summoning the energies of cold, he focused on creating the spell as he could see darkspawn falling to his tactical planning. To Reece’s surprise, he heard armored movement behind him.  
“Can someone help us? My husband has been injured!” Reece released the blizzard and focused a fireball on a group of darkspawn. With smiling eyes, he watched the fireball obliterate them and many more were falling to the cold. More darkspawn were pressing in and Reece knew that his abilities as a Grey Warden meant that he could survive longer than his cousins.  
However, he wished that they would live, even if it meant that he would die. His drive to see Galadhwen again was what drove him to take down waves of darkspawn. His cousins and the woman that was with them, helped to take down many more. They were getting tired, Reece could hear their labored breathing. His eyes widened when more appeared but an ogre was leading them.  
At that, Reece saw Bethany out of the corner of his eye, charging toward the darkspawn.  
“Bethany!” He shouted, “Get away!” Running, he roared a ferocious battle cry, leaping into the air and impaling his blade into the chest of the ogre. Working his body, he stood with one foot on his blade, taking the dagger, he plunged it into the left eye of the ogre and used his right foot to crush the right eye. Reece reached to rip his sword from the chest and sink it into the ogre’s head. It was dead.  
Placing two fingers to his head, he used a powerful mind blast spell to stun the darkspawn around him. Taking the time to drink two lyrium potions on his belt and a health poultice, he channeled the power of the virulent walking bomb into one of the darkspawn and killed it with his blades. A chain reaction of blood, flesh and bone littered the field as the bomb spread like the Blight itself, killing many waves of darkspawn before it dissipated. Looking to his right, near his cousins, he saw them all there. Bethany was back by her sister’s side.  
Reece could feel twinges of pain radiating through him. He had not been nicked since drinking the health poultice, but his muscles and bones were aching. There wasn’t much he could do for that. Channeling another blizzard spell, he waited until it was fully charged but the darkspawn were pressing in. His eyes widened as he felt the power of his spell stop instantly.  
He had enough mana to generate it, how could it have stopped? With a loud roar in the sky, Reece looked up to see a high dragon flying in and scorching what darkspawn threatened to come near them. The rest retreated as the high dragon swept some away and killed a few more. He felt familiar energies within the high dragon as it began to change its form. His eyes widened as he noticed the form it took: Flemeth.  
“Always being the one I’m impressed with. A fine display of combat, Grey Warden. I could see that you were getting tired.” He could feel a massive amount of rejuvenating energy pouring into him, his family and the woman that helped them.  
“You’re a dragon? Why can’t I be a dragon?” Laura half joked.  
“Quite the trick. Only so many powerful mages know how. To see a Grey Warden helping a fleeing family, one that has skill, as well as heeding my call. I’m impressed.”  
“Can someone help my husband?” The woman’s plea repeated. Reece turned to see a woman with short blonde hair and green eyes. Her uniform resembled that of Carver’s. She wielded sword and shield. She wore a red headband around her forehead.  
“Miss…your husband has the Blight. I can sense it in him. The only cure, is to become a Grey Warden. All the Grey Wardens that held the secret to saving his life have perished in the Battle of Ostagar. I cannot help you. I’m sorry.”  
“Aveline, he’s right. I can feel the darkness inside me. Please, end it quickly.” She looked to Reece and to the Hawke family.  
“He’s your husband, Aveline. We won’t make the decision for you.” Laura stated. Aveline gazed into her husband’s eyes as he slowly pulled a dagger out. Her husband sported black hair and brown eyes. He wore heavy templar plating which was silver armor, much like the heavy plate armor, except, the leg armor is covered by a red cloth that covers all around and there’s a black sword of mercy stamped into the breastplate showing allegiance to the Chantry.  
With his last kind words to his wife, Wesley took a dagger to the heart.  
“Without an end, there can be no peace.” Flemeth’s words rang true in Reece’s mind.  
“They wish to travel to Kirkwall.” Reece called to Flemeth.  
“Kirkwall. My, the journey you wish to take. Travel to Gwaren. There will be a ship awaiting you. It will be a long journey to Kirkwall.  
“I will help you get to Gwaren in return for a favor. Take this amulet to the top of Sundermount and give it to the Keeper of the Dalish clan that lives there; she will tell you what to do with it.”  
“So, you want me to give an elven keeper a necklace? What is this, some sort of proposal?” Laura joked. Flemeth laughed,  
“It could be but then my favor wouldn’t be complete.  
“Now, to avoid the Blight further, you ought to get to Gwaren now.” Flemeth directed. Laura nodded. They turned back to see Reece with his weapons sheathed and his arms crossed and his back turned to them, staring at the carnage.  
Cousin?” Laura called to Reece. He turned to see his family walking toward him, “We have to get going. It was very nice meeting you. We weren’t sure we’d ever meet family here in Ferelden.” Laura smiled.  
“I knew Revka had children but I never thought we’d meet any of them.” Leandra explained.  
“If I survive this Blight, I may decide to visit, if I can. I’m a Grey Warden. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get away.”  
“I hope you survive this, Cousin. We’ll miss you.” Laura sighed sadly. Reece accepted hugs and waved goodbye before turning to Flemeth.  
“Not even I knew they were related to you.”  
“Surprises happen. Maybe not as often as we’d like. Now, may I ask why I was called to the surface?”  
“I have a gift for you, some advice and something I want from you."


	7. Into the Depths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning to the Deep Roads, Reece's Wardens must continue toward the Anvil of the Void.

“Of all the times for him to disappear…” Katriel scoffed. Galadhwen stood still, analyzing the paper in her hands. He trusted her to lead her fellow Wardens onward. She had never directly led people before but she watched Reece lead people before. Picking up her equipment, she looked to her fellow Wardens, 

“He wants us to press forward to find the Anvil without him.” She informed them. Watching them pick up their items, she set off to explore the rest of Caridin’s Cross. Coming up on the bridge, Barry immediately stopped Galadhwen, having spotted traps. He asked his fellow Wardens to cover him while he disarmed the traps. Seeing that as a benefit to her team of Wardens, she ordered them to bring the rest of the darkspawn down. Once that was finished, Erulasee spoke up, trying to surmise the events that passed,

“There is one question that takes precedent over any other. How did the darkspawn not sense us when we were mere feet from them? How did we not sense them?” Those were good questions as each Warden stopped to ponder them. 

“That’s a good question.” Katriel responded.

“My guess is that the witch had something to do with it. She called Reece away for her own reasons.” Erron guessed. “He went into her hut. Why? What did she want from him?” 

“Whatever it is, we need to find him and continue on our original mission. We can’t risk losing him because of her.” Katriel suggested.

“Reece said to continue on to find the Anvil. He assured me that he would be okay. Flemeth once assured me that she would never harm him.” Galadhwen assured them.

“I still think when it comes to her, we need to proceed with caution.” Katriel advised.

“I agree.” Alistair replied. “She may be old but something tells me that she is very powerful. So many questions linger. Even more because Reece is absent. But we have allies to gather and a Blight to stop.”

“Agreed.” Galadhwen added. “The Blight must come first. No matter how much it pains me to say it.” Receiving a heavy sigh from Katriel, they continued across the bridge and into another tunnel that darkspawn lurked in. Dealing with the darkspawn, they came to an exit in the tunnel. 

“This looks like the right way out. Ortan Thaig. Won’t be long now.” Oghren spoke up.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to this area before.” Katriel surmised.

“No surfacer ever has. Can tell my wife has though. Something tells me that we’re nearing the thaig.”

“How does one know when they are getting close?” Katriel inquired.

“Well, except maybe the Wardens that come into the Deep Roads for something they call ‘The Calling’. Never really understood it. Probably because the booze made me block it all out. And as for your question about knowing when we’re close, I’m mainly going by what I’ve heard when I’ve been sober. So far the information has been dead on.”

“What’s the Calling?” Katriel wondered. Alistair sighed as he elaborated,

“I never did tell you, did I? The taint in every Grey Warden is a death sentence. Give a Warden thirty years and the taint will kill them. When the Warden feels the dreams becoming more real, hearing the darkspawn voices speaking to them and the taint starts to take its toll, they head to Orzammar to celebrate with the dwarves for one year. After that, they head into the Deep Roads for one last battle. They die rather than succumb to the taint and the dwarves respect us for it.”

“We…we what?!” Katriel felt anger rise within her, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” She demanded.

“I’m sorry. I thought Duncan would have told you. But the war with the darkspawn came up and ever since our rescue and departure, I never felt like I had the chance to tell you…until now that is.” Alistair sighed.

“Thirty years…” Katriel stopped short. She was angry. Alistair could tell. She was beside herself. She felt like she had been wronged. 

Katriel could see that Alistair kept glancing at her, trying to think of something to say, yet, she was at a loss for words. Galadhwen and the others stayed silent as they tried to absorb the new information. It was the price for becoming a Grey Warden. Did Reece know? They continued walking until they reached Ortan Thaig.

“By the tits of my ancestors! I never thought I would see this place in the flesh. I can see Branka all over this place. She took chips from the walls at regular intervals. Check their composition. If she were still here, she’d have sentries out by now.” Oghren relayed. 

He sniffed the air and warned, “Be careful. The darkspawn are the least of your worries in this thaig. We have spiders to clear out of the thaig. Everyone shifted into defense and readied them for an attack. As they came upon the first of the spiders, they dealt with them and pressed on. Arriving at a larger part of the spider infestation, Galadhwen noticed darkspawn battling the spiders. She saw an opportunity,

“Help the darkspawn with the spiders and when the spiders are dead, we’ll turn and kill the weakened darkspawn.” She whispered to them. They continued slaying the spiders until they came upon hostile golems, dwarven spirits and corrupted spiders. They soon found a corrupted queen and battled with it and her corrupted spiderlings. All was well until one caught Galadhwen off guard and knocked her to the ground. 

It proceeded with its attack until Oghren killed it. Oghren helped her up and his eyes looked up, after shortly pausing on her chest, to meet her eyes. Galadhwen snapped defensively, 

"Don't even think about it. They are for Reece." It was seconds later that her face burned a cherry red from embarrassment. Slapping a hand to her mouth, she stood still for a minute before whispering, "Let's go..." Katriel cleared her throat to draw attention away from Galadhwen who took in a hug offered by Erulasee.

“I found some good items on the spider queen.” Katriel called out. 

"That...that's good." Galadhwen's voice barely broke above a whisper. Erulasee walked to Galadhwen and offered a hug which she accepted quickly. With that, Naomi eyed a journal. 

"Over here!" She called. The journal detailed Branka's thoughts on where the Anvil might be and a personal note for Oghren. 

"Branka was thinking about me. I knew she still cared. Ol’ softie. Looks like the Dead Trenches are our next stop. They say that the darkspawn nest there. Whole herds of em."

"Looks like a fun filled day ahead." Katriel mused. Oghren chuckled as they continued into the tunnels leading to the Dead Trenches. Soon, they reached them and peered over a ledge and saw a sea of darkspawn and what looked like a tainted high dragon flying by them. They ducked behind a stone wall. 

"What was that?" Galadhwen asked. Everyone seemed to have the same question on their minds until a very familiar voice caused all heads to turn in said direction. 

"That was an Archdemon." 

"Reece!" Galadhwen chirped. She ran to him and hugged him until she saw a stone golem behind him. This one looked different. "Don't harm Shale. It's with us."

"It's good to see your face back with us Reece. Why did you end up leaving?" Katriel asked.

"Flemeth called me away. I traveled to her hut and received an item for Morrigan. 'In due time, have your templar enthusiast give this to her, along with the robes you'll find. Remember my warning, young man. You will not see me in Ferelden again. This I can promise you.' She said. She's still as cryptic as ever. Someone who has earned my respect. Before she left, she directed me to a village where I found Shale." He finished, motioning to the golem with crystals jutting out of the stone it was made of.

“How is Shale going to help us?” Katriel asked. The golem responded, much to the shock of nearly everyone,

“With my fists, I assume. Or perhaps the darkspawn could die by witty jokes.” Shale joked. “So, this is your group of Wardens? Another mage, four warriors and two rogues. Quite the surprise.” 

“Not what you were expecting to see?” Katriel inquired.

“I assumed Reece was the only Grey Warden. It didn’t mention others.”

“So, Reece? Where to now?” Katriel asked again.

“To assist the dwarves ahead of us!” Reece commanded. He drew his blades and charged ahead to aid the dwarves in green massive dwarven armor. Galadhwen noticed something different about Reece. He seemed faster and stronger. He engaged three darkspawn at once and prevailed against them. He raced ahead, weaving in and out of darkspawn groups and engaged many darkspawn all at once. 

“Don’t these damn things,” Katriel started, as she took an arrow and stabbed a genlock in the head with it, “ever stop?!”

“They should.” Erulasee hoped. Erulasee’s sight was fixed on Reece as she saw him take on the large group of darkspawn. He seemed faster than before in his attacks. He was on the other side of the bridge engaging the darkspawn. “Does anyone else think,” She stopped to run a genlock through and bash it, “that something is different about Reece?”

“There is. I noticed it, too.” Katriel responded. A massive wave of cold shot from within Reece on all sides and froze all darkspawn around him, even the mighty ogre. Reece slew the ogre with strategic blows. It fell, shattering three genlocks. The remaining hurlocks and genlocks were run through and beheaded. With his skirmish finished, he looked to see if his teammates needed help. As the last of the darkspawn fell, the Wardens stared at Reece with unblinking eyes. The dwarves stopped to greet them, 

“Hail Wardens! You may not have any stone sense but you’ve got skill.” The leader of the dwarves, Kardol spoke. Reece turned to Kardol,

“Do you know where the Anvil of the Void is?” 

"It's a sodding legend Warden. Let us know if you find any Paragons. You're likely to find a dozen as one. And watch yourself, Warden. Drunks make poor allies."  
The Wardens stayed quiet as Kardol and Reece spoke a few more words then they headed off on their way.

"Those were the Legion of the Dead. They're renown warriors who commit themselves to fighting darkspawn to protect Orzammar. They come from any dwarven background, give up their houses, have a funeral where they're declared dead and head out to the Deep Roads to die defending Orzammar." Oghren enlightened them.

"Pleased to have the history lesson, Oghren." Reece spoke. "I can sense something in the Dead Trenches. Something that is much stronger than any ogre. Be on your guard." 

"Reece is right. We all should be able to sense it. We just don't know what it is yet." Alistair added.

"Whatever it is, I have a feeling I'm not going to like it." Katriel grumbled.

"Whatever it is...it must be stopped." Reece stated. The others agreed with a nod. Looting and fighting through the Dead Trenches, they came upon a section that looked like bloodied flesh covered the walls.

"Dear Maker....what is this place?....." Katriel looked around hovering closer to Alistair. 

"I...don't know." Galadhwen hesitated. As they neared another tunnel, a voice was heard, 

"First day they come and catch everyone. Second day they beat us and eat some for meat. Third day the men are all gnawed on again. Fourth day we wait and fear for our fate. Fifth day they return and it's another girl's turn. Sixth day her screams we hear in our dreams. Seventh day she grew as in her mouth they spew. Eighth day we hated as she is violated. Ninth day she grins as she devours her kin."

"What was that?" Erulasee asked, becoming unnerved. Reece visibly shivered.   
"A poem about how the darkspawn capture women, dwarves, humans, elves and Qunari to twist them into horrid monsters. She is tortured, forced to ingest darkspawn vomit. She is raped and left to transform into something far worse than any darkspawn." Reece visibly shivered again. "For once I wished that Flemeth's gift of foresight was not so clear on certain things..." They walked forward through the tunnels until they found a woman. Approaching slowly, Reece examined her face. 

"It doesn't look like darkspawn corruption." The woman spoke, 

"Corruption! She led us here. She wanted to find the Anvil. I begged her not to take her house. She wouldn't listen. Her lover, and I could not turn her." Erron's head shot up. 

"A lover in the dark. No wonder Branka left Oghren." He sighed. 

"Well, this explains a lot. If I knew she had those kind of interests, I could have made some adjustments." 

"Where is Branka? Tell us or stay here!" Reece demanded. 

"No! I will not become one of them! Not Layrn! Not Branka!" She then ran off into another tunnel. Reece and his Wardens pressed forward.

“What was that all about?” Katriel wondered.

“I don’t know.” Galadhwen confessed. “I think it would have to do with something that Reece figured out. Wh…whatever the women become. She didn’t want to become one of them.”

“I’ve got a feeling that we should get this over with. We need to get out of here.” Katriel warned. Continuing, the Wardens came face to face with what Reece was talking about. A broodmother. A creature of pink flesh, large tentacles as its arms. Almost like a blob. Judging by the smell and shape, Reece figured that it was what the captured females became. 

“Keep your distance. Use ranged attacks to end it.” Reece suggested. He saw darkspawn around the area. He surmised that if he could deal with the darkspawn, his Wardens would have an easier time dealing with the broodmother. The only one who could engage the broodmother in close quarters was Shale. Reece didn’t have to worry about it needing much support since the broodmother’s tentacles were used to ensnare smaller targets in armor. Drawing his blades, he went in close to deal with the darkspawn. Arrows flew and spells were cast on the broodmother. Reece finished the darkspawn off. Remembering the strength of certain spells, he began to overflow with magical energy. “Galadhwen, use the magic of tempest! I’ll back it up with a blizzard spell!” Reece shouted. It combined to create a powerful storm.


End file.
